South Central Trojans/Firelands Conference News
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South
Central Rallies Past Crestline
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here to listen to an interview with coach Dallas Yost
After tailing most of the first three quarters, South Central rallied
in the final minutes and beat Crestline (62-58) in a district semifinal in
division VII on Thursday night at Galion High School.
They will meet Arlington in a district final at Lima Senior on
Saturday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they were the best team in the late going on
Thursday night. “It goes back
to the old moto to survive in advance. I
think Crestline led most of the game and a lot more time than we did.
It's about making more runs and making the last one. I'm
not even sure we made more runs than them, but we certainly made the last
one and that was very important. The
kids just were resilient. They
kept responding to their runs and made some big shots late,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win Thursday night, “Dominic Paynter hit a
three to tie the ball game up there I think 52-52 and then Wes (June) hit a
big three for us to take the lead there.
I think we went up maybe four points and we started spreading them
out. Make them come out and
guard us. We were able to take
care of the ball in the second half. I
think we had 12 or 13 turnovers in the first half and only two in the second
and that was the difference for us. Defensively,
they got some tough guards. They
just as much deserved to win the game as we did.
We made the plays at the end, which were crucial.
Tanner Back got a couple big steals there at the end to ice the game
and a big free throw to put us up four.”
The Trojans (12-12) have played well in both their tournament wins
and Yost says they are just enjoying the success they are having.
“We are just enjoying this tournament run enjoying these moments
together as a group. We hope to
keep winning tight tournament games going in Saturday night against
Arlington,” he said.
Arlington (21-3) smothered McComb (49-27) in their district final on
Thursday.
They made it to the state final last year and are led by 6’10”
Calvin Willow.
Yost says they are going to have to do some different things on
defense. “They have a big
6’10” kid that plays in the middle of their 2-3 zone.
They let it inside to the high post and low post and they expecting
him to guard there. They extend
those wings out and really go to the three-point line pretty well and those
four other guards have really active hands in their zone.
They will play some 1-2-2 three quarter court trap.
They have good shooters around him.
So, that's going to make it difficult stopping him inside.
We don't have anyone 6’10” to match up with him down there, so we
are going to have to do some different things to stop him and also get out
to their shooters. Hopefully,
they don't get hot on us,” said Yost.
Yost says nobody is talking about them winning Saturday, so they can
be loose. “They're the number
four team in the state for a reason and they're the team that is anticipated
to win. I felt like we played a
little tight (Thursday) night against Crestline in the first half.
That shouldn't be the case on Saturday,” he said.
Published 3/06/26
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South
Central Wants to Play Fast
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Dallas Yost
South Central will be on their home court Thursday night when they
play New Riegel in a division VII sectional final.
They almost pulled the big upset, but fell to Firelands Conference
champion Monroeville (59-58) last Friday.
Coach Dallas Yost says they had a really good chance to win that
game. “They were conference
champions for a reason. They
have got so much debt and balanced scoring offensively.
I thought we really in a way outplayed them for four quarters and
found a way to lose it there at the end.
We had the lead most of the game and that was with Bryan Chaffee
picking up a couple quick fouls there in that first quarter.
He went out with like maybe a minute left in that first quarter.
He didn’t play at all in the second quarter.
Actually, I planned on putting them back in there, but we were
playing so well and we were able to extend our lead there in second quarter.
That's probably when we played our best basketball with our best
player on the bench, which is kind of crazy to think about,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We were up seven at halftime.
They made a nice run and cut the lead down and tied it up, or they
might have even took the lead by one there in the third quarter.
My kids just kept battling, kept responding to every punch that they
threw. We were able to retake
the lead in the fourth quarter. It
was kind of back and forth and then we went up six with like three minutes
left. You have got to find a way
to win those types of games.”
South Central (10-12) entertains New Riegel (6-16) on Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets have lost their last five games, but all of them to
good teams.
Yost says New Riegel is big and physical.
“I think they're a really good basketball team. I
think their 6-16 record can be a little deceiving, that's for sure.
They play in the “SBC” River Division, that's a very competitive
league. So, a lot of good teams
in which they're very competitive. They’ve
got good size. When I first
started watching film that's something that I was surprised with.
They start 6’4”, 6’4”, 6’2” and 6’1”, which is pretty
good size. So, we're going to
have to be able to match that physicality a little bit.
We can't really match their size, but we're going to have to play a
lot bigger than we are so to speak. They
have got some good post players inside and they're going to look to throw it
into them. They play a slower
pace, slower style game,” said Yost.
Yost says they don’t want to get into a halfcourt kind of game
against New Riegel. “I think
pace and tempo is important in this game.
Who can dictate pace and tempo. We
want to play up and down and create more possessions like a couple games ago
against Rittman we shot 76 field goals.
I don't know if we'll quite get to that number because we did have a
good amount of offensive rebounds that night.
We need this game to get it up and down a little bit. I
think if we can get that pace and tempo where we like it that's important.
I think we can get up and pressure and a little bit and try to take
them out of some of those sets and try to speed them up and make them
uncomfortable a little bit. Make
them make one-on-one plays would be huge for us,” he said.
Published 2/26/26
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Trojans
Have to be More Physical
South Central wants to play the role of spoiler as they travel to
Monroeville for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Monroeville can win an outright title with a win.
On Tuesday night, they lost (74-58) to New London in a conference
game.
Coach Dallas Yost says they allowed the Wildcats to get on too many
runs. “New London played well
and we struggled to guard defensively. We
tried to do some different things this time around.
They had success shooting from three, especially there in that first
half. I think they hit nine
threes, but maybe six or seven of them probably came in that first half.
My kids responded well to adversity and to some runs.
They came out hot. I
think they were up 10-2 when I called my first time out.
We responded to that and then they made another run there in the
second quarter, but we ended the second quarter well and cut it to three at
halftime,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Then we kind of
traded baskets with them there in that third quarter.
I think the last two minutes of the third quarter they went on
another run. That's the game of
basketball, it's a game of runs, a game momentum and who was going to make
more runs and who's going to make the last one.
I think it was a three-point game, 42-39, maybe with two minutes left
and that third quarter and I think they had an 11-2 run at the end of the
third quarter, including a buzzer beater from Grady Hielman to go up 53-41.
Once they went up 12 there at the end of the third it was tough for
us to get back in it. We did cut
it I think back down to five or six at one point there in the fourth
quarter. They kind of started
having longer offense possessions trying to stall it out a little bit there
with two or three minutes left in the fourth.”
South Central (10-11,4-9) plays at Monroeville (15-5,10-3) on Friday
night. The Eagles clinched no
less than a share of the conference title when they beat Mapleton (72-60)
last Friday.
In the first meeting, Monroeville won (70-57) on January 21.
Yost says the Eagles bench hurt them the first time.
“They're playing good basketball as well. They
beat Edison (Wednesday) night and I want to say that's their eighth win in a
row, so they're hot basketball team. They
certainly got healthy the last time we played them. Derek
Ackerman had just came back. I
think that was the second or third game back way back in January when we
played them. Then the (Ethan)
Pomerrich kid, who killed us, it was his first game back and he missed a
couple weeks with an injury as well. So,
they got healthy at the right time the first time we played them and I
thought those guys that got healthy were the difference. I
mean Pomerrich had 18 points and Ackerman had 16 and Cook had 15.
We actually held down their best two players.
The first team all district players, Cole Perry, I think he only had
six points and Maverick Myers had eight.
We did a great job on their best two.
We have got to do a better job on the other guys as well because
they're so deep,” said Yost.
Yost says they kind of got pushed around the first time and they
can’t let that happen again. “We're
going to have the match their physicality.
We have got to stay in front of the basketball and keep out of the
paint because once they get the paint they’re really good finishing inside
and also they are really good offensive rebounders.
Sometimes they will shoot it until they make it so to speak.
So, we're going to have to keep them off the offensive glass, match
their physicality and play much better defense this game.
At their place they're playing for a lot.
They want to win that conference title outright and we're trying to
spoil that in a sense. They're
going to have a share regardless, but we want to play spoiler a little
bit,” he said.
Published 2/20/26
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South
Central Needs to Shoot Well
South Central hosts rival New London in a Firelands Conference game
on Friday night.
They are coming off a (77-53) whipping of Rittman on Tuesday night in
non-conference play.
Coach Dallas Yost says they made some defensive adjustments.
“I thought we played really well. I don't think we shot it well. We
struggled defensively in that first half based off what I saw on film.
We tried to get after them and press them a little bit, trap them a
little bit. When trying to press
or trap that's a risk, reward defense. Unfortunately,
the rotations just weren't there. We
gave up a good amount of points in that first half.
We were up 44-35 at halftime,”: he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “It means offensively we were doing just fine.
So, we had to change some things defensively in that second half and
we were able to hold them to 18 points in the second half. That
was just sitting down and guarding and playing just half court defense in
the second. We were able to sit
down and guard and actually we turn them over about the same amount in the
second half as we did in the first half when we were pressing.
Plus, we made 11 threes against them on Tuesday night.”
Yost says they need to do something they did Tuesday night more
consistently and that’s get more shots.
“Something I've talked about all year with my team and something
that has hurt us in a lot of games, especially the close games is these
other teams get to shoot more field goals than us because of two statistics.
That would be their offensive rebounds that we give up and then our
turnovers. The combination of
those two things leads to the other team shooting more shots.
I thought we did that the other night against Rittman.
I mean we shot 76 total field goals,” he said.
South Central (10-10,4-8) is at home with New London (10-8,5-7) on
Friday. The Wildcats destroyed
Mapleton (81-50) on Monday in a conference game.
New London also won the first matchup with South Central (56-52) on
January 9.
Yost says they have to make some perimeter shots.
“We have got to hit those threes and our role players going to hit
those threes like they have been of late.
We need that against New London heading into Friday.
The last time we played those guys we scored 93 points the game
before against Mapleton and hit 11 or 12 threes.
Then came out and probably had our worst shooting performance from
three of the year against New London the first time.
So, just hoping to continue to play good basketball.
Thought that we had a good couple of days practice here,” said
Yost.
Published 2/013/26
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South
Central Playing With Some Confidence
South Central faces two Firelands Conference opponents this week as
they are at Crestview on Thursday and at home for Mapleton on Saturday.
They were beaten by Western Reserve (62-49) in an “FC” game last
Friday.
Coach Dallas Yost says a third quarter run by Western produced a
margin their couldn’t overcome. “Western
on Friday night I thought we started the game out well. I
think they were up four at the end of the first quarter and I think we were
being competitive and we were you know hanging right with them.
Making enough plays to hang around.
They won the second quarter I think by three and we were down seven
at halftime. Being down seven to
a really good team like that, you would like to think you're in a pretty
good spot. They just made a run
there in the third quarter like they kind of did honestly the first time
just happened in the first quarter our first game against them,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They were just hitting some tough
shots. They got hot from three
there in the third quarter. Chase
Hipp made some huge offensive plays. Some step back threes and some some
tough contested shots that really turned the momentum of the game.
Bryan Chaffee was guarding him, he's our best defender, and hitting
some tough shots. My kids kept
battling though. I think they
got up like 20 or 22, something like that, and I think we cut it all the way
down to 10 and there in the third quarter, might have got under 10, but we
basically on around 10 most of the fourth quarter.
I'm proud of how my guys competed against a really good team in
Western, just beat Plymouth the other night playing really good
basketball.”
Sandusky St. Mary’s edged them (57-53) on Saturday night.
Yost says they let that one slip away.
“As for St. Mary's, that's a game in which we should have won.
That one hurt a little bit worse just because we were up eight in the
third quarter. They made a 10-2
run I think it was the last minute of the third and kind of continued that
run there at the beginning of the fourth.
They were able to take the lead with maybe five minutes left or
something. It was kind of back
and forth one possession game there for a bit.
We had our chances late and just too many turnovers that game against
s good at St. Mary's team,” he said.
South Central (8-9,3-7) plays over at Crestview (7-9,6-4) on Thursday
night. The Cougars suffered a tough loss Tuesday night in falling (53-44) to
Norwalk St. Paul. They now trail
conference leader Plymouth by two games.
Yost says they have the tools to win this one.
“They're playing really good basketball as well.
They have played a tough schedule this year.
They’re playing Fredericktown and Ontario and some different teams,
Bellevue as well. They're
playing well against the conference teams as well.
They're in the thick of that conference race. I
know they lost the St. Paul the other night in a good another good game, but
they beat teams like Monroeville and Western and New London of late, who are
also playing really good basketball so that's just kind of how the
conference has been this year. I
really like their team. They
beat us by eight at South Central back in December.
We had a couple kids out, technically three varsity players were out,
and now we’ve got one of them back healthy and the other two were sick.
So, we like how we've been practicing.
We like how we played against them the first time with everybody
healthy if we play our best basketball, I think we can win that one,” said
Yost.
Published 2/05/26
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Trojans
Have to Run Better Offense
South Central will put out the welcome mat for the Western Reserve
Roughriders in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, they edged Norwalk St. Paul (70-67) in a conference game
on Friday and buried Mansfield Christian (58-37) in a Saturday
non-conference game.
Coach Dallas Yost says they made big plays at the end against St.
Paul. “It was good to get back
on the winning track, the winning side of things against two really good
opponents. Against St. Paul we
trailed most of the game. I was
just so proud of our guys after losing some close games here to New London
and Plymouth, two very good opponents in which we had a chance to win the
game at the end and just weren't able to execute.
Weren't able to make the plays at the end, but finally do that
against a good St. Paul team to come back from behind. I
think we were down maybe five points with a minute and half or something
like that. Bryan Chaffee made
some big plays there. He got in
some foul trouble. I think he
scored ten of his 22 in the first quarter and the other 12 in the fourth
quarter, including a pretty big steal and a layup and then another steal off
the inbound and hit a three in there somewhere there.
He basically had seven straight points for us,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “The kid that hit the biggest shot
of the night was Wyatt Hall. We
were down two. We had called a
timeout to let them know what we want defensively.
I told the kids if we get a defensive stop or steal I'm not calling
the time out. We're not slowing
it down and running a set. I
want you guys to play in transition. I
trust you guys make great read make the hard play.
Wyatt actually got the steal and kicked it up to Wes (June) and he
drove it hard in transition able to draw two and kicked back to Wyatt and he
took the three when we were only down two and it took major guts to hit that
shot.”
Yost says against Mansfield Christian they were able to play their
game in the second half. “We
got the game we're in our liking them second half as far as the pace and the
tempo. We started pressing a
little bit. We were able to turn
them over and we got the pace where we wanted it.
I thought Bryan Chaffee and Wes June played really good for us on
that night, on both nights really, but they outscored Mansfield Christian by
themselves,” he said.
South Central (8-7,3-6) hosts Western Reserve (7-6,5-3) on Friday
night. The Riders are coming off
a (65-57) loss to New London in conference play last Friday.
Western won the first game between the two (69-36) on December 20.
Yost says the Riders were able to get a lot of open shots.
“They really took it to us that first time we played them at their
place. It just seems like every
time we head over there, they're playing their best basketball.
We have played them much better at home over the last couple of
years. Kind of the same sort of
kids have been playing for them that are as are playing for us.
So, we kind of expect it to be a good game here at home, but we're
going to have to play well,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They're great
defensive team. They really make
it tough on you defensively with their ball pressure and just how they
contest every shot and make you work and the half court to get clean looks.
That's something we've been stressing.
Turnovers killed us in that game.
We only had 12 turnovers, but it just seemed like they got a lot
easier looks than we did offensively in the half court.
Their ball movement and their execution of their sets and their
motions. It was clean and they
were getting open threes and then open layups and they were getting second
chances as well.”
On Friday, Yost says they want to be the ones getting open shots.
“Really, we have got to execute better and we have got to get
cleaner looks. So, we’re going
to look to run some different things against them on Friday night.
Hopefully, we have enough practice time to get some wrinkles in here.
We haven't had practice up until (Wednesday) all week with the
weather that we've had. We only
had practices last week with three games in four days and we weren't able to
practice on Monday and Tuesday this week.
So, two days to get ready for two really good opponents and we have
got a few wrinkles in hopefully we'll get some cleaner looks,” said Yost.
Published 1/29/26
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South
Central Has to Finish
South Central hosts Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game
on Friday night.
On Wednesday night, Monroeville downed the Trojans (70-57) in a
conference game.
Coach Dallas Yost says the Eagles had a couple of players really step
up. “Monroeville has been
playing really good basketball all year.
They've dealt with some injuries there over the last few weeks.
They just got Derek Ackerman back, who's been a staple in that
program over the last couple of years. He
finally hit his stride and of course against us, he had 16 points.
I think that was his maybe the third or fourth game back, something
like that. That's definitely the
best he’s played. We know what
he's done to us the last couple of years, but hadn't seen that on film yet
from him this year coming back from injury, but he played great,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Then Ethan Pomerich came back for
them and that was his first game back. He's
been out a couple weeks with an injury as well.
I watched film on him earlier in the year and I thought he was a
phenomenal player. A good
passer, high IQ, great in the mid range area.
He was able to get the paint religiously on us (Wednesday) night and
he really hurt us. He had 18
points in his first game back. So,
had the timing been different. If
we would have played them the week before and he was out that game, it could
have been different.”
Yost says they have to start finishing quarters, halves, and games
better than they have been. “We
were up maybe five or six there in the second quarter.
It was the same thing at Plymouth, where we had a six point lead with
a minute and half or so left in that second quarter.
Teams are closing these quarters better than we are and that's
something we've talked about as a team that we have got to do better.
We've had leads and both of the last two games, Plymouth and
Monroeville, heading into halftime and we give them up,” he said.
South Central (6-7,2-6) is home for Norwalk St. Paul (7-8,2-5) on
Friday night. The Flyers beat
Monroeville (44-38) on Saturday night. It
was only their third win in six weeks.
The Trojans won the first meeting (70-54) on December 18.
Yost says they hope to duplicate many of the things they did that
night. “Looking back on it,
that's the last time I really feel like we put it all together so to speak
offensively and defensively. Really
that game we still didn't play perfect, we had too many turnovers in that
game and still found a way to score 70 points. I
thought we guarded them well defensively and made it tough on them and we
turned them over 20 times, which was good for us, especially when we're
trying to get out in transition. We
were able to attack the basket that game. I
think we only shot 13 threes against St. Paul at St. Paul.
Also, in that first matchup we shot a good percentage we're like
6-13, but we really dominated the paint.
We were able to get a bunch of layups against them.
So, we're hoping to do that again on Friday night,” said Yost.
Published 1/23/26
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South
Central Looking for Consistency
South Central wraps up the first round of play in the Firelands
Conference on Thursday night by hosting the second place Monroeville Eagles.
Last Friday, they fell (56-52) to New London in conference play.
Coach Dallas Yost says this time they didn’t make enough shots.
“It was a great atmosphere over there at New London. I
thought the gym was pretty packed out for the kids, which is good to see,
it's good to play in a big atmosphere game like that.
Unfortunately, didn't shoot the ball very well.
Last time I talked to you we're coming off a win against Mapleton and
I was talking about how that was the best we've shot it all year and we got
the other end of that against New London on Friday.
We went 12-27 from three against Mapleton and on Friday against New
London, we were getting some open looks, and we were 2-25 from three, that
was 8%. I don't think we really
been living by the three. We'll
shoot them, but we still shot more twos than threes and we shot a good
percentage on two,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We just
need to get a few more of them. I
credit New London in their defensive philosophy and strategy heading into
that game. They really clamped
down on dribble penetration pretty well.
We tried to feed it in the post quite a bit to our post player Bryan
Chaffee and they were doubling him well and he was finding the open guys.
He was making good passes out of the double teams and we were finding
wide open shooters. We were able
to get open look after open look and the kids moved the basketball fairly
well and just wasn't able to hit the shots.”
Yost says they were good enough on defense, but overall they
weren’t good enough. “I
thought our defense, I talked after the Mapleton game, it was our defense
needs to improve and I actually thought our defense played well enough to
win it. They had 56 points.
They did have five players in double figures and they are just
playing really good basketball right now.
They have got a good team. So,
we knew going to have to play out “A” game to win.
We certainly didn't shoot it well enough to win.
We did have and guys step put, some role players Tanner Back had 14
points, Troy Ayers had another nine points and Dominic Painter had seven,”
he said.
South Central (6-5,2-4) plays host to Monroeville (6-3,5-1) on
Thursday night. The Eagles
hammered Mapleton (77-30) in an “FC” game last Friday.
They lost to talented Margaretta (76-51) on Saturday in a non-league
game.
Yost says they are better on offense this year.
“They've been playing really good basketball as well. I've
watched a lot of Monroeville film over the course of the season really
getting ready for these other opponents. I
was focusing on the other opponents, but I've watched a lot of them and I'm
impressed. They've really
improved offensively and their skill. Kind
of the book on them the last couple of years is they’re going to play
great defense and rebound and and that gives him a chance in every single
game,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They have certainly dominated in
those two areas, but this year they're scoring 70-80 points in some of these
games. They're really able to
play a couple different styles. If
you want to get up and down and play high scoring game they can certainly
play that now. I think they've
really improved skill wise and they have got some good talent on the team.
Then also if you want to slow it down and play a half court style and
win that way they can certainly win that way too.”
Yost they must handle the Monroeville physicality.
“We really have got to be ready to sit down and guard them and
match their physicality. I've
harped on that (Monday) at practice, and Saturday as well.
If we don't match the physicality, if we're not really ready to
defend they can come in here and beat us.
They're playing really good basketball. I
watched their Mapleton game from last week and I watched them against
Margaretta as well. They're
playing well. They have got one
of the Ackerman twins back, Derek, he's back in the mix.
He is a kid that has played varsity for them the last couple of
years. Maverick Myers is playing
good basketball. Cole Perry, I
think might be one of their most improved players, the big post player for
them,” said Yost.
Published 1/13/26
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South
Central Must be Better on Defense
South Central makes the short trip to New London for a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
Last Saturday, they buried Mapleton (93-65) in a conference game.
Coach Dallas Yost says they played very well on offense, but not so
good on defense. “I thought we
got off to a hot start. We
really shot the ball well. Probably
the best we've shot the basketball in quite some time.
It was led by Weston June there in the first quarter.
I think he had 16 points in the first quarter and we scored 27 as a
team there in the first quarter. I
think we had 49 halftime. We're
up I think 49-29, something like that in half.
We played well offensively that is for certain and I have no
complaints about the offensive end. I
thought we were sharing the basketball really well.
We had one of our highest assist totals of any game this year against
Mapleton, which means we were making the extra pass.
We were moving the basketball and also we're getting out in
transition. We got some steals
there in the first quarter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“I thought our defense was okay, pretty good in there in the first
quarter, but then after that we let the score of the game really affect our
defensive effort, intensity, and execution quite frankly.
I wasn't pleased with that and I called multiple timeouts even with
even with a good sized lead just to try to stress that we're not playing the
scoreboard. We're trying to get
better here, we're trying to play to a certain standard that we have as a
team and giving up 65 points was way too many.
Also, Mapleton is getting better and they were able to hit some tough
shots. There was a couple times
where I thought we did play pretty good defense and they hit it with the
with the good contest. They
played well offensively as well. I
just think our effort wasn't there especially in the second half.”
Yost says to beat the good teams on their schedule they have to be
better on defense. “To beat
some teams that we are about to play in this next stretch of games against
some good teams coming up that we're going to have to play our “A” game,
our best game. That starts on
Friday night against New London. If
we're going to beat New London we're going to have to play “A” our game.
We have to play our best game there at New London to get a win and
that starts at the defensive end for us,” he said.
South Central (6-4,2-3) plays at New London (5-4,2-3) on Friday
night. The Wildcats lost Tuesday
night (57-56) to Sandusky St. Mary’s in a non-conference game.
They fell (65-59) to Monroeville in their last conference game.
Yost says they have some really good weapons on offense, including a
freshman. “They're really
improved. They have got a lot of
back from last year's team. I
believe the only player that lost from last year's team was Adien Ruggles.
Grady Heilman is really good. I
just went and watched those guys in person against Sandusky St. Mary's on
Tuesday night. He had 19 points
and he's playing really well for them this year.
He's got good confidence going right now.
He's very quick and tough to stay in front of, tough to guard.
The freshman Henry Thomas, I think he's leading them in points and
he's played really well. He had
another good game against Sandusky St. Mary's.
He's going to be a tough guard. Even
as a freshman I've been really impressed with him,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “I think he's one of the best shooters that I've seen
on film so far, so we're going to have to really limit his three-point
opportunities. He is also really
fast, really quick, you have got to keep out of transition and you have got
to keep out of the paint as well he's a tough guard.
Jaxson Schaffer is another good player for them.
We've had him on our scouter the last couple years as well.
He's a good player as well, he can really attack downhill and
transition.”
Yost emphasizes they are going to need to play very well to win.
“If we don't bring our best performance on Friday night New London will
beat us. I was very impressed
with what I've seen on film. I've
watched multiple games on film and what I've seen in person the other night
against Sandusky St. Mary's. They're
going to get after it defensively and create some chaos situations
defensively with some different traps and some different pressure.
They really get out in transition.
Their halfcourt execution is good.
They really share the basketball.
They have got good, quick ball movement.
They're doing a heck of a job over there and it's going to be a tough
game for us to go in there on the road and get a win,” said Yost.
Published 1/08/26
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South
Central Needs More Depth
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Dallas Yost
South Central will be over at Mapleton against the Mounties in a
Firelands Conference game on Saturday night.
They lost (62-54) to Crestview in a conference game on Saturday
night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they didn’t convert well enough.
“I thought Crestview played well.
They were able to get out in transition a little bit and just a
little bit there in transition with some of their better players with Goon
getting in transition. At
6’4” an athletic player for them and he was hard to stop downhill in
transition. I thought we did a
good job on Daniel Wells. Bryan
(Chaffee) made it tough on him. We
lost him a couple of times from three. I
think he had two threes and like 10 points, but I thought we did a pretty
good job on him and that's their best two guys.
The role players really stepped up for them.
Max Durbin, who starts for them, he's a senior, and he had 15 and he
generally does not average 15 that I know of anyway in the games that I
watched. So, for him step up and
have 15 that was huge for them. A
lot of them were in transition or offensive rebounds.
So, tip our cap to Crestview. I
thought they played well, but we were dealing with some sickness last week.
We had a couple guys out, a couple starters out in Brayden Viock and
Tanner Beck we're out due to sickness. They
missed practice on Friday and we're unable to attend the game on Saturday as
well. So, we had to have some
different guys starting and some different guys playing for us and
unfortunately we just didn't play well enough to get the win,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I thought we played good enough to
win it and bad enough to lose it if that makes any sense.
Something that kind of did us in was we had 19 turnovers and many
down the stretch. I think we cut
it to six with like three minutes left.
It hovered around that six point lead there for Crestview kind of
seemed to about the minute, minute and a half mark.
We had opportunities. I
thought we were able to press them there late in the fourth quarter and then
we also did some half court trapping type stuff that we were able to get
some quick shots and then rebounds or we were able to get turnovers on the
back end of our press. Unfortunately, we weren't able to convert those into
layups or convert those into points. So,
it seemed like we missed some layups that we've been making and we missed
some open threes and that you like to fall in that situation or we would
just turn over a turnover, which you never want to do.
So, we had a chance there. My
kids battled hard and never gave in never gave up.”
Yost says they got in position in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t
get over the hump. “We scored
19 in the fourth, which was a good effort by us and I think we get the pace
of the game with our press and got some steals and we just weren't able to
make the plays late in the game as far as half court execution or converting
off those turnovers in a game in which you're down by six points with two or
three minutes left you just have got to kind of be able to execute there,
got to be able to finish. You
have got to hit that open three and you can't turn it over here on this
possession and unfortunately we did,” he said.
South Central (5-4,1-3) is at Mapleton (0-6,0-4) on Saturday night.
The Mounties were drilled by Norwalk St. Paul (69-29) on Saturday.
Despite their record, Yost says they have some guys that can play.
“I think they're improving. They're
going to throw a couple different things at you.
They play some zone along with some man to man defense.
They have got some kids that shoot the three ball.
We're going to have to respect that.
Sheppard, he's going to shoot the three. I've
watched a couple films on him and he's more than a capable shooter and he
shoots a good amount of them. I
like the big post player Zehner there in the post.
He had a good game I was watching their Crestview game when I was
getting ready for Crestview and I was actually really impressed with him.
He was able to catch it in the high and low post there against
Crestview’s zone defense and he was able to finish pretty well,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “They set a good amount of ball screens in their
offense as well, so have to be ready to cover up some ball screens and
things of that nature. They're
more guard oriented other than Zehner and they got Beattie back from last
year. I think they have got some
nice young players coming up. We're
going to have to play well on Saturday night.
It seems kind of like we've been a little bit inconsistent here of
late, so if we play poorly obviously they can beat us.”
Yost says they need to start developing some depth.
“We've just been focused on the process of getting better.
Tying to improve on some different things based off the film that
we're watching. With the guys
sick last Saturday against Crestview, it gave an opportunity for some other
kids that haven't been playing as much to get an opportunity.
They have got to continue to get better because if we need them
again, we need them to step up and play better.
We have got to get some more production from some other guys other
than Bryan and Wes (June) and we've talked about that.
We're trying to put them in the position to be successful not only
our best players, but when teams double and really hone in on those two.
I’ve been stressing to the other guys what's that message sending
to you guys? That they think
they think as long as stop Bryan and Wes, we win the game.
So, I would take that personal and you guys have got to be ready to
step up and score for us. So,
I'd be interested to see how it plays out against Mapleton at their place on
Saturday night. We're going to
have to play well to get the win and we're hungry for a win,” said Yost.
Published 12/31/25
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South
Central Must Play Better Defense
South Central takes part in two Firelands Conference games this week
as they travel to Norwalk St. Paul on Thursday and Western Reserve on
Saturday.
Last Friday they had an 18 point first half lead, but were outscored
by 40 in the second half in an (88-56) loss to Plymouth.
Coach Dallas Yost says they lost the momentum.
“I thought we got off to a hot start there in the first and we were
leading 25-13 I think at the end of the first.
Even at one point and that first half, I think we got up to 18 point
lead on our home court and playing well.
We had all the momentum and we let them live at the free throw line
there in the second quarter and that really just killed our momentum.
Not only do they live at the free throw line and were able to cut
back into the lead, but then also we had some of our key players fouling and
they had to sit on the bench with some foul trouble.
We had three starters out in that second quarter with some foul
trouble. They were able to cut
the leaves from 18 or 16 to eight by the end of the half.
We were still up eight at half time and still feeling pretty good
pretty confident where we were at in the game.
Plymouth came out and played basically a perfect second half. I
thought their defensive intensity and effort and execution really ramped up
there in the second half and credit them.
We didn't get very many stops. Any
time the other team scores 52 points in a half that means your defense
wasn't very good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Plymouth
is very skilled offensively and they run five out and they're tough to guard
one-on-one. They break you down
time and time again and you’re leaving shooters open.
Credit to them, they hit like eight or nine threes and got hot
against the second half and we weren't able to get any stops and get out in
transition like we like to do. Our
half count execution wasn’t where it needed to be.
When you have got a team grabbing all that momentum you have got to
be able to stop runs. To be
honest with you, ask your best players to go stop those runs.
We had some sets run up and we had some decent looks for some of our
best players and unfortunately didn't go in.
We even struggled from the free throw line, especially in that second
half, we were 6-15 for the game. I
can't remember what we were from the second half.
We had a couple chances that kind of stop their momentum with us
being at the free throw line there in second half and weren't able to hit
them. Credit to Plymouth, once
they had all of them that momentum that just we were never able to get it
back.”
Yost says going forward they must play better defense.
“It all starts to defensive end for us.
I thought in the first half we had active hands were getting steals
and getting out in transition, but also just getting stops and getting out
transition. It was the complete
opposite the second half. Offensively,
in second half we shot like 17% from the field with 15 turnovers, so that'll
get you blown out in the second half. You’re
not getting out in transition and you're not getting any stops and you give
up 52 points in a half that’s how you get blown out after being up by
almost 20 points in the first half. So,
we talked about it and we're trying to focus on the good first half that we
played. Plymouth is really good
and we were up 18 in the first half and we got to do that for four quarters.
To beat good teams we have got to play a good four quarters.
Not two, not three, four complete quarters,” said Yost.
South Central (3-2,0-1) is at Norwalk St. Paul (4-2,0-1) on Thursday.
The Flyers lost their first conference game (57-47) to Monroeville
last Friday.
Yost feels they have done an excellent job reloading.
“Coach (Steve) Minor has really built a winning program over there.
With what they lost from last year's team.
The last couple years they've been really good with McCall and Frazee
some of the different kids that they've had over the last couple years and
having that regional team. They
lost those kids, and they even lost what was going to be their best returner
and Grant Kuhnle, ended up transferring to Perkins.
It seems like he just keeps on rolling and they just kind of plug and
play. They're pretty skilled as
well even with the guys that got back together.
Probably not as deep this year. I
think we're only playing seven guys, including a freshman off the bench.
I really liked their starting lineup, especially Landon Fries, who is
a really good player for them. I
watched him drop 30 plus points against a good Edison team.
I like the Griffin kid, he's stepping up for them this year.
He was a good game JV player for them last year. I
could see the talent that he had last year on the JV team.
Brady Fritz, he's one of their returning letter winners, along with
Fries, from last year's team that was more of a role player last year
stepping into a bigger role. I
think he's got a nice job, he's a nice player, he can really see the floor,
he really sets up his teammates nicely as a bigger forward type player and
you can even score a little bit as well.
So, I really like those three players for them.
They got decent size with Lindeberger, who’s 6’5” and Kalowski,
he hit a few three against Edison,” said Yost.
Yost says they have to take St. Paul out of its game.
“They run four out, one in, dribble drive and we're going to have
to really be able to sit down and guard and stay in front of the basketball.
Our dribble handoff defense is going to have to have high execution
come Thursday night. We’re going to have to stay in front of the
basketball better than we did against Plymouth last Friday.
We've kind of been working on that practice and harping on that. I
thought they played Monroeville tough in their last game and Monroeville had
been dominating teams on the glass, especially getting about 20 offensive
rebounds and St. Paul didn't give them that.
So, St. Paul is a physical team.
They're going to crash the offensive glass and they're going to try
to win that rebounding battle. So,
we have got to get out and transition a little bit.
They're going to be patient in the half court offense.
They'll even throw some different defenses at you from 2-3 and 1-2-2
half court. Against Monroeville
they were throwing about everything at them.
Maybe just man to man full court pressure as well, which I thought
was effective for them in the second half.
Monroeville only had 13 points at halftime and ended up scoring
47,” he told Swankonsports.com, “One of of the reasons they did that is
because they speed up the game there in the second half with some of their
different defenses. They were
able to turn them over and get out and transition and play a little bit
faster offensively them second half. I
thought that worked for them, but that's how we want to play.
So, we hope to get the game up and down and when we do get in the
half court not only got to sit down and guard for potentially long defensive
possessions and get stops, but also we might have to have some longer
offensive possessions ourselves. We
need to get more ball reversals and more paint touches and playing inside
out rather than one or two drives and a shot or one or two passes on the
shot. We've been working on that
as well. So, to beat good teams
you really got to execute in the half court.
Our half court execution, both offensively and defensively, is going
to have to be great for us come Thursday night if we want to beat Saint Paul
on the road.”
Published 12/17/25
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South
Central and Plymouth Want to Run
South Central will host Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game
coming up on Friday night.
The Trojans are coming off an (81-69) win in non-conference play over
Edison on Tuesday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they were able to put it away in the fourth
quarter. “I thought we played
really well at Edison. We were
able to score 44 points in the first half.
We even extended our lead there in the third quarter to I think 18 or
19 points, but Edison didn't go away. They're
at home and they're home opener. They
have some good players and Coltyn Meagrow and the (Cole) Leimesiter as well.
They were able to make enough shots to actually cut it down to six
there at the beginning of the fourth. We
were able to finally put away there in the fourth. We've
done a couple different times. We
let Lucas back in it as well and then extend that lead and end up winning by
30. It’s a game of runs.
We have just got to keep responding to runs.
Good teams are going to make a run and my kids did that on Tuesday
night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I thought Bryan
Chaffee and Weston June played really well for us and they have played
really well for us all year, but we had some other guys step up as well. I
thought Dominic Paynter played well and Brayden Viock and Troy Ayers and
Wyatt Hall off the bench as well. We
got some foul trouble where Weston got two fouls there in first quarter and
didn't play at all in the second quarter.
We were able to, with him on the bench, still make a run and actually
extend our lead there in the second quarter.
I think it was important for us to have to win a tight game there in
the fourth quarter. We haven't
really had a really close game yet as far as crunch time down there in the
fourth quarter and that's important to win a close game.
We were able to get out in transition pretty well.
Edison wants to play pretty fast, that's their style of game, and so
it was an up and down game. Late
in the fourth when you have got the lead you got to be able to slow it down
as well and execute and half court. I
thought eventually we finally did that.
We were able to hit our free throws late and get some key stops there
in the fourth quarter.”
South Central (3-1,0-0) is at home for Plymouth (2-1,0-0) on Friday
night. The Big Red played a
conference game on Tuesday night and they rallied to beat Monroeville
(75-72) to get off to a good start in conference play.
Yost says Plymouth has some athletic kids and they play a good zone
defense. “Plymouth is really
good. They're definitely a
dangerous team. They have got a
lot back from last year, basically everybody it seems like.
Jarrod Burrer is one of the best players in the conference, he's
really good player. They have
got really good depth as well. I
mean the (Ozaya) Reynolds kid is really good and (Jackson) Bays and (Mason)
Kilgore and Lex Grose. They have
got some dudes. They got some
athletes. They're playing a
1-3-1, they're getting out in transition, another team that wants to push it
in transition, and get it up and down a little bit.
I think the 1-3-1 defense has been pretty effective.
So, we're definitely going to have to play well on Friday night and
defend our home court in a big conference game.
It's our first conference game and everyone wants to win the
conference and we have our eyes on that as do other teams from Firelands
Conference,” he said.
Yost expects the game Friday night will be up tempo.
“I'm sure they'll be ready for it and I think my guys are ready for
the test. It'll probably be the
best team we've played so far. They've
played really well so far this season beating Buckeye Central by I think by
23 points. It sounds like they
probably should have won the Seneca East game.
They lost that one there at the end in a low scoring affair, which
was a little bit surprising. They
bounced back and won a tough game (Tuesday) night against Monroeville, in
which they trailed there in the first half were able to come all the way
back against a good Monroeville team as well.
They are battle tested. They're
a veteran team. They run five
out and in the half court and they play without it, have good ball movement,
they have got plenty of shooters and they shoot a lot of threes.
They get out in transition, have got some really quick kids, good
athletes, that's going to be a good test for us on Friday night.
We hope they get it up and down there in transition and I think they
want to run as well and that's kind of what we want to do,” said Yost.
Published 12/11/25
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South
Central Sharing the Ball
Click
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South Central will be down at Lucas for a non-conference boys’
basketball game on Saturday afternoon.
The game has been moved up with a JV start at 4 PM due to the Big Ten
Championship football game.
The Trojans (1-1) downed Crestline (70-57) in a non-conference game
on Tuesday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they were able to handle pressure and get some
very good shots against Crestline. “I
thought the kids played well. They
were certainly excited about getting win on Tuesday night against Crestline.
We had good energy at practice (Wednesday) following that. I
think we kept that momentum going into practice and had a really good day of
practice. The kids played well.
When I was preparing for the game watching film on Crestline, I was
impressed. I thought they were
much improved and I knew we were going to have to play well to beat them and
we certainly went out there and played well. We
executed the game plan. With
their defensive ball pressure in the full court, in the half court, with the
run and jump types of defense I knew we were going to take care of the
basketball. I knew if we did, we
would get quality shots, not only inside with layup opportunities, but
threes as well. We got a lot of
layups because we were making smart quick decisions against their press and
against their traps and we didn't turn it over.
We had 14 turnovers and nine of those came in the first half.
In the third quarter we made a great run.
We scored 26 points in the third quarter and that was kind of the
difference,” said Yost.
Yost says thy also passed the ball very well Tuesday.
“I tried to tell my kids the reason we scored we were able to score
26 in the third quarter is because we had zero turnovers that quarter. That
was a big key for us and I thought we dominated the glass.
We dominated the rebounding statistic.
We had 48 rebounds to their 29, 17 offensive.
The biggest thing probably for us was we had 31 made field goal
attempts and 24 of them were assisted on, which means we're really moving
the basketball well. The kids
are sharing it, not caring who gets the credit, who gets the shots, and they
played great on Tuesday night. I'm
proud of them and we just want to keep this thing rolling and have two more
good days of practice here on Thursday and Friday to get ready for Lucas on
Saturday,” he said.
This game will represent the season opener for Lucas.
Yost expects a test from the Cubs.
“First off, I respect the program over there.
They've have a winning tradition for however many years now, seems
like a while. It's a tough place
to go win. I went there two
years ago, my first year on the job, and they were really good.
They had the other Toms, I think his name was Logan Toms, just a heck
of a team that they had two years ago there.
We were able to beat him at our place last year.
I respect the heck out of the program and we're going to have to play
well. We're going to have to
scrap and claw. It's going to be physical over there at Lucas,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think they have got four or five
letter winners back from last year's team.
They have got some size. They
had 6’6”, 6’7” kids there last year and those kids are back in Haden
Maloney and Gabe Brenner. Cooper
Day is back as well and (Anthony) Fanello.
Those guys I can think off the top of my head that were there on the
team last year. A new coach, I'm
sure he's excited for the opportunity and I'm sure they're having a good
preseason. We're their first
game, so I have limited amount of film on them so far.
I've got one of their scrimmage films, but I haven't been able to get
their other scrimmages. With no
game film, we're just trying to prepare the best we can with the film we can
watch and how I can prepare my kids and practice for a physical fight on
Saturday night at Lucas.”
Published 12/04/25
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South
Central Must Execute
South Central will be on the road Saturday night to open the season
against Seneca East in non-conference play.
It is the only boys’ game in the area on Saturday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they have been preparing for what they will
see from the Tigers, which is a lot of zone.
“I know Seneca East always throws some different defenses at you
that you don't always see and he generally plays some sort of zone.
We have got some film on them. I
think the kids are improving each and every day and really throughout the
preseason. I think we've had a
few good days of practice here and we'll get a day off with Thanksgiving and
get to rest their bodies and we'll get back after it for one more day on
Friday, one more day to prepare,” said Yost.
Yost says he has been stressing to the players the importance of
working hard and learning in practice. “I
tried telling them early on in the week that we win the game on Saturday
with how we practiced today. With
every rep, whether it's a shooting grill or some sort of team offense, team
defense stuff, we win the game on Saturday with the preparation today and
really the four days of practice all week.
So, I think the guys are ready and the guys are excited for the
opportunity,” he said.
When it comes to Seneca East, Yost says they have to do something
about containing Luke Mason. “They
have Luke Mason back and he's a really good player for him.
He runs the show for them and creates a lot of their offense off the
bounce. Great elite shooter but
also sets up his teammates very nicely.
He plays the top of their zone and is very active with his hands and
great defense player,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“They really have got some solid role players around him.
Seems like they just kind of plug and play each year they have got
different guys step up in those different roles. They seem to be very
athletic this year. They have
got some decent size 6’2”, 6’3”, 6’4”.
I think they got good complimentary role players around him.”
Published 11/27/25
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South
Central Showing Improvement
South Central is hoping that some increased depth will lead to more
wins on the court this year.
Coach Dallas Yost says he really believes he has a lot of kids that
can be contributors this season. “We
do get a lot of experience back. I
have got seven letter winners back from last year's team and we're adding a
couple new guys to the mix as well, so I feel like that's one thing that I'm
real proud of heading into this season is we have got pretty good depth,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Playing a lot of different
lineups here in the preseason and trying to figure out the rotation.
I have probably got 12 guys that I could probably play, no I'm not
going to play 12, can't play 12, but that's what the preseason is for,
figuring that out. It can change as the season goes on.
Really happy with the depth that we have and the seven letter winners
that we have, but there's a couple of younger guys that are getting thrown
in the mix as well.”
Yost says there have been some ups and downs, but he thinks this week
they showed what kind of team they can be.
“I thought we played well our first scrimmage against Open Door.
We struggled in our second scrimmage.
Did not have a good day of practice the day before and that led to a
bad second scrimmage, but then bounced back and really looked good in our
scrimmage on Monday night against Huron and Northwestern.
Against some good competition I thought we looked our best against
probably some of the better schools that we've played so far in the
preseason,” he said.
Yost says what he wants to see is the process of becoming a better
team every day. “I talk to my
kids about all the time that you just want to improve each and every day and
come work hard and with the mindset of trying to get better each and every
day of practice. Try to be 1%
better, try to be better today than you were yesterday.
I think guys have really focused on that.
Some guys had really bought into the offseason program, the offseason
work and our commitment to that in spring, summer, and fall.
I think it is finally starting to show in our improvement
individually and as a team,” said Yost.
Published 11/21/25
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South
Central Hopes they can Keep Momentum
South Central won for the first time this season last week and Friday
night they are at home for Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game.
They took down Mapleton (38-20) in a conference game last week.
Coach Derek Fisher says a good start led to a solid effort.
“It felt good to get a win. We
keep preaching trust the process and buying in and it was good to kind of
see a lot of hard work and a lot of the planning come to fruition.
Hats off to Mapleton. They're
good group there. Our kids had
something in their eyes and they were ready to go.
It just started out well for us.
We kind of built on from there. It
was a good night for us,” he said.
South Central (1-5,1-2) hosts Western Reserve (4-2,2-1) on Friday
night. Western is coming off a
(27-20) loss to Monroeville last week that knocked them out of a share of
the conference lead.
Fisher says they have a lot of weapons, but it starts in the trenches
from the Riders. “They're good
team. They're historically a
good program, good tradition. Coach
(Ty) Stevenson does a great job over there.
We're really familiar with him and what he does being a South Central
guy. He does a great job over
there. It starts up front.
They're big on both sides of the ball, they're well coached, they're
disciplined,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They have
got a lot of size and on the outside and in the skilled positions they got a
lot of skill. Right now, they're
running back if not leading the conference he's one of the top kids in the
conference in rushing. They can
get the ball in the perimeter and they have got some speed and they have got
a lot of trusted weapons on the outside too.
So, like I said it starts up front though they’re good on both
offense and defense it'll be a test for us this week.”
Fisher says to compete in this game, they must be able to hold their
own at the point of attack. “We've
been working on something we've been trying to slowly build.
We've got some guys that are playing probably a little earlier than
we would like because of our depth, but we're trying to bring those guys
along and last week we finally saw the light bulb go off.
So, hopefully we can keep that same energy and build on what we did
last week. Honestly, we played
really well last week, so I think the confidence is there now we just have
got to try and see if we can continue that on both sides of the ball,”
said Fisher.
Published 9/30/25
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South
Central Must Take Next Step
South Central travels to Monroeville to meet the Eagles in a
Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
They lost a tough one last week when Rittman beat them (14-12) in a
non-league game.
Coach Derek Fisher says they couldn’t quite get over the top.
“We played better, but not good enough to get it done.
Other than two big plays. They
had two long runs. The first
play out of the half and one in the first half, I think on their first
drive. Other than that, we kind
of locked in and kind of settled in a little bit.
Our kids did a lot better on both sides of the ball.
We have still got to clean up a few things offensively and
defensively, even special teams, but I'm happy with the effort.
It was a big night for us to open the new stadium and having a big
dedication beforehand. Our kids
play with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm.
So, I couldn't be prouder of their effort.
Just wasn't quite enough to get the win,” said Fisher.
Fisher says again they need to step it up this week.
“The Firelands Conference is the meat of our schedule.
We understand that the schedule itself is not going to let up any.
It's actually going to get tougher from here on out.
Everybody in the conference we're all 0-0 at this point, so hopefully
we can build on that. Be that as
it may, maybe we're a few weeks behind, but it's kind of one of those things
where we had a good game. We saw
it on tape. We got a chance to
kind of praise them a little bit and show them that the stuff that they're
putting in Monday through Thursday does pay off.
So, hopefully we can capitalize on that and continue moving
forward,” he said.
South Central (0-3,0-0) is up at Monroeville (1-2,0-0) on Friday.
They lost (14-2) to Seneca East last week.
They are defending league co-champs.
Fisher says they are physical at the point of attack.
“They are no slouch. The
coach over there, coach (Tylor) Nester, has been the coach of the year in
the conference the last two years in a row.
He's built quite a program from the time I got to South Central he
started getting everything going. I
think they had a bad year his first year and ever since then they've never
looked back. They have just kind
of been reloading instead of rebuilding,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday afternoon. “The same cast of characters.
Same last names that you have seen in Monroeville’s program for
years and years. They've got
quite a legacy going and he's starting to build it the right way.
They're just reloading at this point.
They graduated their quarterback, but they found a new one to kind of
fill the same role. The
offensive and defensive lines are solid.
A lot of the schemes they can implement is because they're so
physical up front and then they call it speed guys fly around and do what
they do best. So, it'll be a
tough task for us. Hopefully, we
can come out with the same effort and enthusiasm that we had last week and
continue to build and continue to put a positive product on the field.”
Published 9/09/25
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Still
About Fundamentals for South Central
South Central will host Rittman in their home opener on Friday night
in non-conference play.
It will be the grand opening of their renovated field, which includes
new bleachers, an all weather track, and new locker rooms.
The Trojans have not hosted a track meet in 40 years.
In football, last week, they were blitzed by Buckeye Central (34-7)
on Friday.
Coach Derek Fisher says the Bucks out played them.
“Hats off to them, I mean their senior leadership, their
quarterback, their coaching staff, their offensive line, everything was just
kind of clicking for them and we didn't really have an answer to be honest.
We just kind of ran into a buzz saw.
They're a good team, well coached, and they were ready to play,” he
said.
Fisher says for the (0-2) Trojans to get better it starts with
fundamentals. “First off, we
have got to focus on fundamentals. That's
one of our biggest things. I
know it sounds cliché, but I tell the kids it doesn't matter who we play
next, who's on our schedule, if you can't make routine plays look routine on
offense and we can't tackle and fill our gaps on defense. So,
it starts with me, it starts with coaching and just kind of trickles down.
We all need to get better at stuff.
So, we're just kind of back to the basics so to speak.
Trying to build some fundamentals and get really good at a couple
things,” said Fisher.
Rittman (2-0), out of the Wayne County Athletic League, belted Akron
Coventry (47-13) last week.
Fisher says they are very good. “The
schedule doesn't lighten up any for us at all.
We scheduled these guys last year. I
think it was a home and home, so we played at their place last year. I
think they lost a lot of their coaches.
I think they kind of went on, so we kind of expected them to be a
little bit down this year, but they're not, they're actually very solid,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They've won both times
out. They look really fast on
both sides of the ball. They
look like they're well coached. They
changed some of their schemes around with the new head coach coming in, but
it doesn't look like they missed a beat.
They look different in philosophical tendencies and stuff.
They look like a seasoned, veteran team that looks like they're
playing for each other, they're playing hard, playing fast. It'll
be a good test for us this Friday.”
Published 9/04/25
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South
Central to be Different
South Central takes the bus to New Washington to face the Buckeye
Central Bucks in a non-conference football game on Friday night.
They were smoked (46-12) by Willard last week.
Coach Derek Fisher says they need to be better at the routine things.
“It did not work out as we planned.
We just need to focus on getting better.
We need to focus on kind of the same stuff as before.
Making routine plays routine, tackling, filling gaps and just having
a strategy going into the game. So,
we working more on ourselves this week. The
encouraging part is they say you make the biggest jump from week one to week
two, so we're hopeful that happens for us this week,” said Fisher.
Fisher says the start of the week was pretty good for the Trojans.
“One of our coaches said that was probably one of the best Monday
practices that we've had. The
kids are in good spirits, so I think they believe.
We kind of made a couple of changes here and there and kind of trying
to make things easier so they can pay a little faster hopefully that will
come to fusion and take shape on Friday,” he said.
Buckeye Central on the other hand was a winner (22-7) over Crestline
in their opener.
Fisher says Buckeye Central has a lot of kids that can make plays on
both sides of the ball. “They're
a good team. They’re led by
their quarterback. He was second
team All-Ohio last year. I
believe he has a brother that's his favorite target.
They're really good on the outside.
They have a lot of speed and a lot of size out there.
They've got a couple of interior linemen that are pretty stout.
Defensively, the same cast of characters.
The kids that are the skilled guys on offense are the safeties and
the corners on defense. The
running back they have I believe is one of their middle backers and then
their defensive line is just pretty good as well,” he told
Swankopnsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Hopefully, the weather doesn't
play too much of a factor. There
was a chance of rain, but I think they're back off on that a little bit.
So, we think we match up well. We
think it'll be a good test for us. We're
looking forward to implementing some of our new things and see if that helps
in the long run.”
Published 8/27/25
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South
Central Respects Willard Athleticism
South Central plays at Willard to open the season on Friday night in
non-conference action.
The game was originally supposed to be played at South Central, but
their renovated facilities are not ready to go.
Coach Derek Fisher says his kids are facing all of the things you
always face on week one of a season. “We
have a saying that we have to kind of play ourselves into shape and that's
one that we've been using quite a bit. The
heat and the humidity early in the season, playing on turf, the nerves, the
kids spend a little bit more energy in warmups and kind of get amped up, the
crowd, the atmosphere, the band, the lights, just the combination of all
those things. First game jitters
and stuff like. We're anxious
for the test to see what we have. We
know it's going to take four quarters, so we're looking forward to it,”
said Fisher.
South Central and Willard have opened the season the season now in
seven of the last eight years and Fisher says the game has a rivalry feel to
it. “Being that their just a
couple miles down the road from us there's a lot of proximity.
There's a lot of familiarity on both sides.
Kids either grow up and maybe play flag or tackle football in one
district or another or they maybe go to the same church, stuff like that.
So, there's a lot of similarity.
We're excited to get the season kicked off.
It's a non conference game, but it feels like it's kind of familiar
foe if you will,” he said.
Fisher says the Flashes are going to have some athletes on the field.
“They're a team that likes to spread the ball out.
They like to get the ball to their athletes in space.
Honestly, there's a lot of similarities between a lot of what they
want to do and what we want to do. They
have a running back they trust. They
have some speed on the outside. They
have an experienced quarterback that's now got a year under his belt and has
played a couple of varsity games and he’s pretty experienced,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “The same thing on defense.
They're tough up front, they have a good middle backer.
They're speed the secondary is hard to not notice.
So, it's going to be a challenge for us.
We hope that our kids are up for the task.
We've been preparing for this for a while, so I think we're going to
be ready to go.”
Published 8/19/25
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South
Central Putting Things Together
South Central is trying to put the pieces together and be ready for a
football season that begins in just over a week.
They scrimmage at Crestline on Friday and then open the season at
home against Willard on August 22. That
will be followed by two more non-conference games at Buckeye Central and
home with Rittman.
Coach Derek Fisher likes the progression he is seeing.
“We're progressing each and every day.
We're trying to implement a few new things and get some new kids up
to speed and kind of lay the groundwork in the foundation for the upcoming
year. Just trying to get a
little bit better each and every day and so far so good,” he said.
Fisher says one of the keys for them is to build some depth on their
roster. “At a small school
like we have and the unique situation we're in there's a lot of variables.
If one person was to get hurt it doesn't usually just affect that
position,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “There's
the age-old saying of next man up, but a lot of times in our situation it
could be next man over, next man moving to a different position and then it
could be a domino effect where a couple of different positions are affected
by that. So, establishing depth
and kind of establishing a rotation early in camp is key right now.”
Fisher says they need to become better at doing the fundamental
things on both sides of the ball. “Right
now, it's just fundamentals. Tackling
on defense, making routine plays on offense, making the routine plays look
routine is the saying I've been using. Just
pursuit angles and understanding how they fit through the system. I
always use the phrase doing your 1/11th.
Not trying to do someone else's job or trying to overcompensate for
the guy next to you or trying to get stats or notoriety just doing what
you're supposed to do. Once it
all fits together perfectly it's like a giant puzzle and it all makes a
giant picture,” said Fisher.
Published 8/14/25
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Mohawk
Drills South Central
The Mohawk Warriors are headed to the regional tournament as they
smoked South Central (9-1) in a division VII district final on Saturday
afternoon at Galion High School.
They will play Russia in a regional semifinal next Wednesday at
Cedarville University.
Mohawk coach Zach Hawkins says they were able to check off another
goal. “As coaches we knew we
had some expectations and this was one of our goals along with the league.
Our kids have been awesome every time we tell them to do
something,” said Hawkins.
Mohawk scored twice in the bottom of the second inning when Andon
Clouse reached on an error, Kaleb Bish singled and Elias Magallanes
delivered a two run single.
South Central would make it (2-1) in the top of the third as Cole
Frankart singled a later scored on an error.
Mohawk responded with a five spot in the bottom of the inning to take
a (7-1) lead. Ben Bogner reached
on a force play and Kaden Bish walked. Lance
Frankart singled to drive in a run. Then
three of the next four hitters, Clouse, Kaleb Bish and Magallanes had RBI
singles. Another run scored on a
throwing error and it was (7-1) Mohawk after three.
The Warriors (22-6) would score single runs in the fourth inning on
an RBI single by Frankart and in the sixth on a run scoring single by Kaden
Bush.
South Central stranded seven runners and coach Nick kirk says they
couldn’t come up with the big hit. “It
seemed like we were able to get baserunners on just about every inning, but
we weren't able to capitalize. Hats
off to their pitcher. He was
able to keep us off balance and weren't able to get the hit when we needed
to,” he said.
Hunter Haynes started and went the distance for the Warriors walking
none and striking out five.
Hawkins says he was able to stay ahead of the batters and make good
pitches. “He's been one of our
workhorses all year. Between
him, Kaleb, Elias and Andon, they're all ones to me.
We wanted to go with the senior.
I trust anyone of those guys, but Hunter was spectacular,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “He pounded the zone for the most part,
other a couple hit batters. We
played good defense behind him too. I
think our pitchers understand that if I throw strikes our defense is going
to make plays.”
Mohawk banged out 11 hits on the day, and there were six for 13 with
runners in scoring position.
Hawkins says they had a good approach going to the box.
“We knew that they had the (Wes) June kid on the mound.
We knew that he was around the plate.
We knew that he lived on the outside corner, so our approach was to
go the other way and how many times did we do it.
So, the kids were just being extremely coachable.
Doing what we tell them and it's leading to success so I'm very proud
of the kids,” said Hawkins.
Haynes also had three hits and Frankart had two.
Everyone in the lineup expect one had at least one hit.
“We've kind of been like that all year.
We've got some pretty gaudy numbers one through nine.
Again, I trust every single guy that we put up there at bat,” added
Hawkins.
All 11 Mohawk hits on the day were singles.
Kirk says they are a very fundamental baseball team.
“They don't overpower you. They
just get base hits, base by base, and that's what great baseball teams do.
We kind of folded there in the third inning and had a lot of errors
that they were able to capitalize on and get five runs.
We just put ourselves in a hole and that’s not going to be any good
in any baseball game,” said Kirk.
Led by their senior class, Mohawk won the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference in football, finished second in boys’ basketball and shared the
title in baseball.
Hawkins says he wants to hang onto these guys for as long as he can.
“I don't want to see them go, so I'm glad we get to make it a
little bit more of a run with these guys.
I was also a football coach, so I got to enjoy that run.
They are just spectacular in terms of leadership, talent, they have
just got it all. I very lucky I
get to coach them,” he said.
Published 5/31/25
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South
Central Gets Past Buckeye
South Central scored four runs in the first two innings and held off
Buckeye Central (4-3) in a division VII district semifinal at Galion High
School on Thursday evening.
Coach Nick Kirk says they started off well offensively and then got
excellent pitching from Troy Ayers. “We
started off pretty hot in the first two innings kind of cooled off there for
the rest of the game. We were
still having quality at bats and putting pressure on their defense to make
plays. Then defensively played
really well all around game. We
had a couple of errors here and there that we need to clean up for Saturday.
Troy Ayers pitched his butt off for us.
A kid that didn’t even pitch last year for us and only has a couple
of starts this year. He really
stepped up in a district semifinal game. I'm
super proud of him. Definitely
deserves everything that he achieved,” said Kirk.
Ayers also had two hots and three RBI in the game.
Ayers has been a spot starter for the Trojans (16-10), but when
called on after the recent injury to Aaron Hauler Kirk says he was more than
up to the challenge. “He’s
put in a lot of time. He's one
of those kids that wants to play baseball year round if he could.
Last year, pitching wise didn't work out.
This year he came in with wanting to work a little bit more on
pitching, so we worked him into a couple games and we took off from
there,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Any game that he's
pitched we've been competitive in. No
games where he's giving up a ton of runs or anything like that.
So, we just had a lot of confidence going into the day that he was
going to throw strikes. He might
not overpower kids, but he's also not going to give a lot of free bases as
well. He's going to make the
other team put the ball in play and with the defense that we have behind him
a lot of confidence in him and our defense.”
Mohawk (21-6) blasted Plymouth (11-1) in the other semifinal.
Kirk says most would call them the underdog, but they have
confidence. “A lot of people
might write us off, but I know that our team we are never written off.
Just the way that we have experience, we have the grit, battle tested
past two years. They're a good
baseball team over there and I think that if we play up to our potential
that we know that we can play baseball fundamentally.
Hit the baseball, field it cleanly, make plays when we're supposed
to, I feel like it's going to be a pretty good game for a district title,”
he said.
Published 5/30/25
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South
Central Wins it Outright
South Central is not in a sharing mood.
Monday, the Trojans secured an outright title in the Firelands
Conference with a (19-3) demolition of the Mapleton Mounties.
Last season, they shared the title with Norwalk St. Paul, but coach
Nick Kirk say this year is a whole lot better.
“It feels that much better this year.
It was great last year, but this group deserves it.
They are positive, great teammates, always pick each other up.
I wouldn’t want to coach another group,” he said.
Mapleton scored two runs in the top of the first inning, but the
Trojans responded with four in their half of the first.
After Cole Frankart doubled and Bryan Chaffee singled, the Mounties
threw multiple wild pitches, hit two batters and committed an error.
Kirk says his kids always respond.
“We've been doing it all year.
Wes (June) is a phenomenal pitcher.
He's picking up you know right where he left off early in the season.
We're down Aaron (Hauler) now. Leader,
captain, four year lettermen, but a lot of people stepped up and took care
of business (Monday),” he told Swankonsports.com on after the win, “We
don't get down when we give up a couple runs.
They battled back. They're
tested and they won't give up ever.”
Hauler broke his wrist last weekend and will be lost for the season.
South Central scored three more in the second inning only one hit to
make it (7-2) Trojans after two. In
the third, the Trojans made the “Custer’s Last Stand” look like a
backyard skirmish as the scored 12 times to erase any doubt.
Mapleton used four pitchers on the day, but they were like the little
Dutch boy putting his fingers in the dike, except they didn’t have enough
fingers.
With one out, June and Troy Ayers had hits and South Central sent 16
players to the plate. The
onslaught was highlighted by junior Alex Hamons, who two hits four RBI in
the inning.
Kirk says they came to the field on Monday with a specific goal in
mind. “They came to play.
They knew what was on the line and they wanted to be undisputed
champs this year. Last year, we
were co-champions with St. Paul. All
the hard work paid off and they showed up and made it together,” said
Kirk.
Published 5/13/25
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South
Central Wins Again
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk
South Central still holds a one game lead in Firelands Conference
play after roughing up New London (13-2) in a conference game on Thursday
evening in New London.
The Trojans (11-7,8-3) lead Norwalk St. Paul (9-8,7-4) by game.
They finish a game with New London on Saturday and then play a two
game series with Mapleton next week to complete the conference schedule.
St. Paul plays Monroeville on Friday and then Crestview twice next
week.
Coach Nick Kirk says they are trying to keep focused on what the
schedule says that day. “We
are taking it game by game by game. I
tell them to take care of business. We
have three games left and give ourselves a chance to make another run at it.
They keep responding. (Thursday)
was a testament to the hard work that they put in not only in the season but
over the summer and everything like that,” he said.
13 runs is their highest output in a conference game this season and
Kirk says they are finding some holes. “We
were a little bit slow. It took
to about the third inning and we put up five on them and then in the fourth
inning we put up seven and then gave us another insurance in the fifth,”
he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday night, “I think we're
seeing the ball very well. A lot
of kids that were, I wouldn't say necessarily struggling early on, they were
putting the ball in play. It’s
baseball and you hit it right at someone, but we're finally finding the
holes and gaps and making the other team make plays and finally hitting our
stride here towards the end of the season.”
Kaden Blair and Troy Ayers both had two hits for the Trojans.
South Central shared the conference title with St. Paul last year and
they have a lot kids back. Kirk
thinks that experience will help them down the stretch.
“I believe so. I think
that they know what it takes, the focus day in and day out on whether it's
in practice or in a game and not taking anybody lightly.
That’s what what we've been preaching the whole year.
Anybody can win on any given night.
I think with the experience they come ready to play and just show up
and just play baseball and have fun and stay positive,” said Kirk.
Published 5/09/25
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South
Central Get Big Win
There are more teams in the race for the Firelands Conference
baseball title than there are Cleveland Browns quarterbacks.
South Central scored four times in the first inning and another in
the second on the way to a (7-4) win at home against Norwalk St. Paul on
Monday evening.
Right now, the Trojans (7-7,5-3) and the Flyers (7-6,5-3) have three
conference losses, but so do Plymouth and Monroeville.
Crestview and Western Reserve both have four.
South Central and St. Paul shared the title last season and Trojans
coach Nick Kirk says the win Monday keeps them in position.
“It kept us in the hunt for another conference title,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday night, “This year the conference
is top heavy with a lot of good teams and a lot of teams playing good
baseball. We took care of
business. Our kids were focused
in and ready from the get go.”
Last Thursday, St. Paul edged South Central (4-3) and grabbed a one
game lead in the conference.
Kirk says they left a lot of guys on base last week, but they did not
go that on Monday. “When we
played them last week and we had bases loaded three times and I think we got
we got one run across. (Monday)
we capitalized with the bases loaded. I
told them from the get go if we are going to beat teams this year that we
need to capitalize with runners on scoring position,” he said.
There are strict limits when it comes to the number of pitches that
can be thrown in a high school game. For
example, no pitcher can throw more than 125.
There are also a mandated number of days that a pitcher must rest
based on how many pitches he throws and it can be difficult to juggle all of
those things.
Kirk says they had to use a lot of guys on Monday.
“We kind of deployed a little bit of everyone (Monday) because we
have Monroeville Tuesday and Wednesday.
We started Aaron Hauler and then went to West June and then Michael
Sanders came and pitched an inning for us and then Gavin Thurston came in
and got the last out for us,” said Kirk.
Published 4/29/25
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Big
Win for Trojans
South Central downed Western Reserve (4-1) on and moved back into a
share of first place in the Firelands Conference.
Combined with Norwalk St. Paul’s (9-5) loss to Mapleton on Tuesday
the Trojans and Flyers are tied for the top spot.
South Central lost (8-5) to Western Reserve on Monday and coach Nick
Kirk says Tuesday was a good bounce back win for them.
“We shot ourselves in the foot (Monday).
We had two outs late in the game and Western ended up putting up four
runs with two outs and kind of took the momentum away from us,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “The boys really responded really well
(Tuesday). We played clean
baseball all the way around, which we haven't been getting recently.
So, something to definitely build off of.”
Once again, Kirk says Wes June was a warrior for them on the mound.
“Wes June pitched his butt off again.
It’s like every single time you reach out to me he's on the mound
for us. He pitches his butt off.
He can change it up. He
threw 75 pitches in seven innings. I
can't say enough about the kid. You
put him in any spot, like I said before, he's just going to succeed.
He's ready whenever his name's called to step up for the team,”
said Kirk.
South Central (6-6,4-2) will play a very important series with St.
Paul (6-5,4-2) on Thursday and Friday. If
either could sweep the two game series they would be in control of the
league.
Kirk says down the stretch this will be an interesting week with a
lot of players. “I feel like
the conference this year is definitely wide open.
A lot of good teams and it’s going to be a battle until the finish.
It's anybody's league to win and as long as we take care of our
business day in and day out and worry about what we can control I think we
give ourselves a good chance take a run at it again,” he said.
Published 4/23/25
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South
Central Edges Crestview in Extras
South Central picked up a big road win on Monday as they went to
Crestview and beat the Cougars (9-8) in eight innings.
Coach Nick Kirk says they really hit the ball well on Monday.
“They keep you on the edge of the seat.
I thought both teams played very well (Monday).
A couple mistakes both sides on the defensive side, but we ended up
capitalizing. We hit the ball
great and finally they're falling for us now.
I think the boys are getting ready to start turning this thing
around,” said Kirk.
Kirk says they were able to force the action a little bit.
“We definitely put a little bit of pressure on them.
Then Wesley June pitched his butt off (Monday).
He went all eight and I can't say enough about the kid.
It doesn't matter what situation he's put in, he wants to be in it
and succeed,” he said.
In other Firelands Conference action on Monday, Norwalk St. Paul beat
Western Reserve (8-4), Plymouth downed Monroeville (6-1) and New London
outscored Mapleton (18-15) in a slugfest.
So far, St. Paul is the only team unbeaten in conference play.
South Central will host Crestview on Tuesday.
Kirk says he thinks the Trojans (3-5,2-1) can repeat as champions in
the conference. “The league is
wide open. Some teams that
haven't been at the top in the past couple of years and definitely creeping
up there. There are a lot of
good teams in our conference,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night
after the win, “I think it's anybody's league to win.
As long as we keep playing the way that we did (Monday) it gives us a
good chance to win it again.”
Published 4/15/25
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South
Central Downs Plymouth
South Central got a much needed win on Wednesday when they downed
Plymouth (9-2) in a Firelands Conference game played outside of Greenwich.
Coach Nick Kirk says the baseball gods were finally smiling on the
Trojans a little bit. “I feel
like past couple games we've been hitting the ball.
We haven't been striking out as much, but just hitting it right at
people. (Wednesday) night, we
capitalized with runners in scoring position.
Plymouth had a couple mistakes that we capitalized as well,” said
Kirk.
Kirk says they also got a strong outing on the mound from Wes June.
“Wes June pitched a gem. He’s
pitched two good games this year. He's
going to be a workhorse along with Aaron Hauler for us,” he said.
Plymouth had beaten the Trojans (12-6) on Monday and Kirk liked their
response on Wednesday. He says
they played much better. “We
talked about that. Everyone is
battling with the weather right now. We
haven't fared very well with it. (Wednesday)
was still a little chilly, but at least the sun was out and it wasn't
raining,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We talked about
a couple of the mistakes that we had against them on Monday.
We needed to pitch to the bottom of their order, which I felt like we
did a very good job (Wednesday) with Wes. I
feel like that's what really helped us get over the hump and hopefully start
playing better baseball.”
Published 4/10/25
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Seneca
East Shuts Out South Central
Seneca East blanked South Central (4-0) in non-conference baseball
action on Thursday evening.
Nick Parks went the first six innings for Seneca East allowing only
two hits and striking out five.
Seneca East coach Rick Bowerman says he had good command on Thursday
night. “He threw very well,
limited base runners, had a nice curveball going.
That's what he needs to do. He
could be a very good pitcher. He
struggled at times earlier this year in scrimmages with his control, but
(Thursday) night he got it dialed in and had a big game for us,” said
Bowerman.
Parks also had two hits. Braydon
Robinson and Gunner Polachek also had two hits.
South Central coach Nick Kirk was unhappy with his team’s
performance in the game. “It
was not the outcome we wanted, but I believe we needed it.
Everyone is going to bring it against us and we need to be on top of
our game, every game,” he said.
There was no scoring in the game until bottom of the fifth when the
Tigers (2-1) put two on the board. They
also scored twice in the sixth off South Central starter Michael Sanders.
Bowerman says they were patient.
“We were shoutout early in the week by Wynford.
Then up to the fifth inning it was kind of frustrating, but our kids
stuck with it. They listened to
us about some situational hitting,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win, “We finally got things put together.
Actually, most of our runs came via errors by them, but we're putting
them in play. That's what I kept
telling the kids put the ball in play and good things will happen and that's
what we did.”
Bowerman calls it a good win for them.
“They beat us in the district final last year 1-0 and I think they
only lost maybe two or three seniors, so I know they had a lot back.
They are a very solid team, so it was a big win for us,” he said.
Published 4/04/25
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South
Central Can do it Again
South Central was the Firelands Conference and district baseball
champion last year and they have the building blocks to have another very
good season this year.
Coach Nick Kirk says they return a large part of their team from last
year. “We have a lot of
returning guys. We lost three
players. two seniors and a freshman catcher who transferred over to Norwalk,
but other than that we're still pretty solid.
We had a lot of sophomores that are now juniors.
We just take it game by game. Obviously,
the ultimate goal is to win the conference, win the sectional, win the
district, win regionals and make the state.
We need to just take it one game at a time and keep our eyes focused
on the moment not looking towards the future,” he said.
Kirk says they will have a solid pitching staff, always the key in
baseball at any level, with a lot of depth.
“We have technically about six or seven guys.
Aaron Hauler, I feel like is one of the better pitchers in the
league. He's been working all
season, all year honestly just refining his skills.
So, I think he's going to be a big part.
Weston June is another kid that can just flat out pitch.
We also have Michael Sanders and then Gavin Olney, he tore his ACL in
football, but they're saying that he should be able to get back halfway
through the season. So, right
there four starters and then on the back end we have a couple guys that can
definitely win the game as well,” said Kirk.
When it comes to the everyday lineup, Kirk says that experience will
show through. “I think we have
consistency. They all have
experience, they know what's expected of them.
Last year we preached positivity creates positive results and I think
they just build off of that. I
think that they're ready to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “They've been bugging and bugging to get after it and this week
it's finally nice we're able to get outside.
They don't ever want to leave the field.
Sometimes I just have to tell them that hey we need to go home.
I think consistency and they're ready to make another run at it and
take it game by game and a lot of leadership.”
Published 3/11/25
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South
Central Working to Get Better
South Central hosts Norwalk St. Paul on Thursday and Western Reserve
on Saturday in Firelands Conference games.
They lost (59-45) to Plymouth in conference play last Friday.
Coach Dallas Yost says Plymouth was more physical than them.
“They ambushed us right from the get.
The second half we've kind of settled down and actually played a lot
better. We only lost the second
half by one, but they beat us in the first half there.
Credit to their defense. They
played some tough defense. They
made it really tough on us offensively.
They contested everything. They
played with physicality and my guards really struggled.
They got in some foul trouble again early.
My starting point guard Dom Paynter didn’t get to play the second
half, got hurt in the first half,” he said.
Yost says they have talked about a lot of things that they need to
improve to give themselves a better chance to win.
“We broke down the film and we talked about a lot of different
things. One thing offensively
was our spacing was off. Our
body movement and our ball movement wasn't there.
We weren't making quick enough decisions with the basketball
offensively to really get to make their defense work.
We made it too easy on them. Credit
to them they made it tough on us and contested everything.
Even defensively we have to we have to continue to improve.
We gave up 59 points. We
talked about good teams find ways to win in a multitude of different ways.
We shot 15-56, which was 26 percent offensively.
So, when you’ve got that bad of a shooting night you have to find
other ways to win. We have got
to be able to hold teams whole teams down and play better defense,” he
told Swankonspots.com on Wednesday night, “We've had a great week of
practice and leading up to the St. Paul game.
I thought last week leading up to the Plymouth game we had some bad
practices. We just haven't been
consistent enough in practice and I've been harping on it.
We had some guys in and out. Our
team kind of got hit with some sickness last week and just some bad
practices leading up to it. So,
I've been stressing that you have got to practice well and that'll translate
to the game. The practices
leading up to the game if you practice well that would translate.
I think that message has been heard and this week’s practice has
been really good. I think we've
gotten better. If we fix those
some issues offensively and I think we're continuing to improve defensively.
I just need some more for my
guards. I need them to play
well, I need them to shoot better, I need them to score because Bryan
(Chaffee) and Wes (June) have done a really good job for us in the post with
scoring. Just got to keep those
two out of foul trouble. I think
my guards will come along as the season goes.
We've got some younger guys at the guard spot.
The talent is there and the potential is there we just have to get
them to perform on game day.”
South Central (2-2,0-1) is at home for Norwalk St. Paul (3-2,1-0) on
Thursday night. The Flyers beat
Monroeville (48-33) last week in their conference opener.
Yost says they have experience and they do a lot of things well on
offense. “They are really good
again this year. I'm pretty sure
they got six out of their top nine back from last year's team.
They play four seniors and two juniors in the rotation.
Anytime we talk about St. Paul you are going to be talking about
McCall and Frazee being their best two players and that's going to be our
focus on Thursday night just trying to help keep those guys check.
They're really good offensively.
They push in transition, which hurt us a little bit last week against
Plymouth surprisingly. So, we
have got to be ready for them to push in transition.
When they get in the half court, they're in a good dribble drive.
They use a lot of dribble handoffs and they're very effective in it.
They have got some really good shooters.
They don’t shoot a ton of threes, that's what I saw on film, but
they got the shooters are there. They're
getting a lot of paint touches going downhill and really attacking the paint
with their size. They have got
good size as well. I just think
they're a really solid team, they're solid defensively, offensively they can
play multitude of different ways with playing i transition and playing fast,
but they can also slow it down in the half and run some good actions.
It's going to be certainly a test for us (Thursday) night.
I think with the practices we have leading up to it, I think we're
going to be up for the challenge,” said Yost.
Published 12/19/24
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South
Central Looking to Add Another
South Central will be over at Plymouth in a game in the Firelands
Conference on Friday night.
They have now won two straight after a (69-54) win over Lucas in
non-conference play last Saturday.
Coach Dallas Yost says they found a way to win.
“We won two in a row and it feels really good.
We have got some momentum going now.
We had great energy at practice this week and I think a lot of it has
to do with coming off two wins. I
think that was key for us, especially starting off early in the year to get
two quality wins like that. One
on the road and one against a good Lucas program.
Coach (Taylor) Iceman is a really good coach,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We battled through some adversity
in those games with some different foul trouble and that kind of thing.
We actually kind of shot us in the foot a little bit with some
turnovers and giving up some offensive rebounds.
We didn't shoot it well from the free throw line both games, shot
about 50 percent and still able to find a way to come out with the win and
win two in a row heading into conference play here.
Now we have got nine conference games in a row, so it's going to be a
tough stretch for us and it all starts on Friday night with Plymouth.”
South Central (2-1,0-0) is at Plymouth (1-2,0-1) on Friday night.
The Big Red lost a conference game (50-38) to Monroeville last
Friday.
Yost says they are good on defense and have some depth on their team.
“They have really good size and physicality.
Coach (Eric) Picklesimer has them playing really hard.
They're solid defensively. They
have got a good guard in the Burrer kid. I
think he's a really good player for them. They
have got good other pieces,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“Some size and some 6’4” kids inside, pretty deep, they play seven,
eight guys. So, we'll have to be
ready for the test on Friday because they're going to come out ready to
play. They beat a really good
Seneca East team, who we lost to early in the year and then they had a
couple of tough losses against Buckeye and Monroeville.”
Yost says this is a game where they have to play well to win.
“We expect a really strong test on Friday night. I
think we're going to get their best basketball with them being at home and
they haven't played in a week. So,
they're itching to play I'm sure and get another conference game under their
belt. So, we're expecting
Plymouth’s best shot on Friday night,” he said.
Published 12/12/24
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South
Central Has to Handle Pressure
South Central opens the season on Saturday night by hosting defending
Northern 10 co-champ and regional qualifier Seneca East.
Coach Dallas Yost says they must become better ballhandlers and
shooters before Saturday gets here. “I
think in the preseason we struggled at times turning the basketball over and
just getting a good shot every possession and then honestly shooting a good
percentage. The first couple of
weeks there was a lot of install, a lot of teaching, those kind of things.
We've been focused on trying to get more reps up and practice to hopefully
increase our shooting percentage. We've
got more than capable shooters, we just haven't shot it well so far in the
preseason. Then taking care of
the ball. That's going to be
very important on Saturday night against Seneca East with their defense.
They're active hands and aggressive on defense.
That's going to be our first key and most important for us on
Saturday is taking care of the basketball.
I think we're continuing to get better.
I thought we got better as the preseason went on, but obviously
that'll be our focus on Saturday night,” said Yost.
Seneca East last season featured an aggressive 1-3-1 zone and Yost
says they anticipate seeing that again.
“They were district champs for a reason and went to the regionals.
There was a lot of it had to do with that 1-3-1 zone.
They're really affective with it and they run in a few different
ways. They're running it again
this year. I have a few
different films on them from the preseason and they're running it again.
They lost a lot of guys from last year's team, a lot of a lot of
veterans, seniors, and but their two best players are back and that's
important for them. That’s
Luke Mason and Lucas Bordner. They
are two of the best guards in the area, so we're going to have to keep them
in check a little bit. They're
1-3-1 is very tough to prepare for it. You
don't see it very often, so even trying to get your scout team to run it
good to give you a good look in practice and stuff.
I think we've handled it pretty well so far preparing for it this
week,” he said.
Yost says they must be prepared to handle all kinds of pressure
without a lot of turnovers. “I
still think we're not getting exactly what they're going to see on Saturday
night because they're so aggressive and active with their hands and in the
passing lanes. Luke Mason is
just relentless on the top of that 1-3-1.
Bordner does a good job of anticipating passes and shooting the gaps
and getting steals. They are
very effective in that defense. They're
also playing a diamond press as well, kind of like a 3-1-1 diamond press,
which they are effective in that too because they anticipate really well.
They play the eyes of the quarterback so to speak and read the eyes
and read the ball and anticipate and shoot the gap and then they're out in
transition,” he told Swankonports.com on Tuesday night, “That's when
they're at their best offensively is in transition and they play a lot off
of their defense in that way. So,
we've been trying to do everything we can to prepare for that 1-3-1.
They run a multitude of different ways.
Sometimes they don't trap and sometimes they do trap in the corner,
sometimes they are trying to trap up the sidelines.
So, coach (Anthony) Langhurst coaches them up really well and they're
very effective in that 1-3-1. So,
we're hopefully ready to see that on Saturday night and have a few different
ways we can probably attack it.”
Published 11/27/24
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South
Central Showing Signs
South Central is looking to return to form this season after a down
year last season and there have been some bright spots.
Coach Dallas Yost says his young players have been putting in a lot
of time. “I've seen a lot of
good things. We're going to be
young again this year. We have
only got two seniors, but the young guys are stepping up.
We had a lot of guys put work in since last spring.
Since we started back with workouts in April.
The spring season is a little bit different for us with track and
baseball. We have got a lot of
guys in those things, so limited guys in the spring, but I thought the
summer was good and the fall was even better.
We had about I think 16 guys on our roster that did not play
football, so we had a lot of time with these guys here in the fall and I'm
hoping that pays off,” said Yost.
Scrimmages are not necessarily about winning, but competing and doing
good things and Yost thinks they did that last week.
“I’m seeing progress, we had our first scrimmage last week on
Friday against Vanlue, which we were only about a week into practice.
We had some guys in and out, some guys banged up missing some days
here and there and some guys in theater and that kind of thing.
We had some guys missing the first week, but overall I was pretty
happy with how we competed on Friday. Still
coaching details and that's obvious with only being a week into it,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Vanlue ran a 2-3 zone and we
only had our zone offense in for about two days.
We don't play much zone, so it's hard for our scout team to give us a
good look and practice for a zone, we don't really play it.
So, that was kind of adjustment.
It's a good thing it was a scrimmage though.
Like I said, they're improving and continuing to get better.
We have some surprising guys I think that are going to step up for us
this year. Some younger guys and
I'm ready to get the season rolling.”
South Central will see Huron in a scrimmage on Thursday and Yost says
that will give them another chance to evaluate kids.
“We had a lot of guys in the fall.
We had 16 guys that didn’t play football, but then you're sitting
there playing for two months, or whatever, straight in the fall against the
same guys. I think we put good
work in the fall, but at some point you get tired of going up against one
another. I think we compete
pretty well against one another, but at the same time obviously it takes it
to another level when you're competing against another team.
So, that was nice even though we were only a week into practice just
to get to play someone else was fresh for us.
We actually got Huron (Thursday) night.
We'll go to Huron for our second scrimmage in preseason,” he said.
Published 11/14/24
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South
Central With Another Tough One
South Central will be down at Crestview for a Firelands Conference
game on Friday night.
They fell (41-0) to unbeaten Monroeville in conference action last
week.
Coach Derek Fisher says they played hard and were able to stay in the
game for a while. “We knew it
was going to be a tough test. Right
now, they're at the top of the Firelands Conference.
So, kind of a buzz saw,” he told Swankosports.com on Wednesday
night, “We thought we played well in the first half and most of the third
quarter and then just kind of got out of hand.
Overall, not dissatisfied with our effort.
At the end of the first it was 6-0.
We were kind of battered and bruised a little bit, but we felt like
our kids showed a good effort. They're
just a really good team.”
South Central (1-4,1-1) takes its act to Crestview (1-4,1-1) on
Friday night. Crestview got
their first win of the season last week and when they tarred and feathered
New London (67-0) in a conference game.
Fisher says Crestview has a solid team.
“It doesn't get any easier for us.
Welcome to Firelands Conference football where each week is a new
test. Crestview was the class of
the Firelands for the last couple of years and kind of didn't by their
standards obviously didn't win the conference last year, but they're still
really good team. They're well
coached, big across the board, they have got some speed on the outside an
experienced quarterback that was All Ohio last year,” said Fisher.
Fisher says Crestview won’t be tricky, just good.
“We know defensively they're flying around to the ball.
They keep it simple. They're
not super flashy, but what they want to do and the kids do their job
trusting the system the coaches are implementing,” he said.
Published 9/26/24
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South
Central to Meet Very Good Monroeville
South Central makes the trip to Monroeville is meet one of the
conference favorites in the Eagles on Friday night in Firelands Conference
play.
They got their first win of the season last week when they beat New
London (33-12) in conference action.
Coach Derek Fisher says they did a lot of things well.
“It was good to get a win. Our
kids responded and showed up ready to play.
We felt like we were swarming to the ball on defense, played solid on
special teams and we had good performances across the board on offense.
Got some things working and we've been trying to work on the last
couple weeks and finally saw it come to fruition last Friday against New
London,” he said.
South Central (1-3,1-0) is at Monroeville (4-0,1-0) on Friday night.
The Eagles beat Crestview (31-16) in their conference opener.
Fisher says Monroeville has a lot of speed on defense.
“They're good all over. One
of the better teams we play on our schedule.
I believe one of the top favorites or contenders for the Firelands
Conference crown. We kind of
told our kids everybody in the conference right now it's either 1-0 or 0-1
and right now they're the next team in our path,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They definitely have an identity
on defense. They like speed.
They get to the ball. I
think they have 10 turnovers or 10 interceptions.
So, they're definitely getting the ball when it's in the air with a
lot of interceptions.”
Fisher says the Eagles are big and have been dominating on offense so
far this year. “On offense,
they focus on size and just moving people.
Nothing real flashy or glitzy or glamorous.
They just go to the point of attack.
They just want to run the ball and then throw it when they need to.
So, coach (Tylor) Nester and his staff hats off to them.
They've done a great job in the short time that they've been there
and the quick turn around that they've made is pretty remarkable,” said
Fisher.
Published 9/20/24
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South
Central Getting Closer
South Central opens competition in the Firelands Conference on Friday
night as they are at home for the New London Wildcats.
They lost last week (37-14) to Rittman in non-conference play.
Coach Derek Fisher says they were competitive early.
“In the beginning of the game things looked promising.
They're a really good team 6-4 last year and made it to the playoffs.
We knew that they had a great running back coming back.
At half, we had a chance to go in down seven if it wasn't for a
couple blunders there at the end. They
end up blocking a punt with four seconds left.
We were backed up against our own end zone and they blocked the punt,
so we went in at half down nine. But
like I said, very easily could have been seven and then we were set to get
the ball back after half,” he said.
Fisher says he definitely saw some bright spots.
“We kind of challenged our kids in the last week to play with a
little more enthusiasm and heart and they responded really well in a game
that was custom made weather wise to what Rittman wants to do running an old
spread wing-T. The downpour we
had right at the beginning of the game and right at the beginning of the
third quarter played well into Rittman’s hands.
Basically, our kids overcame that other than a couple big plays here
and there, which we know we have got to eliminate.
We kind of looked back at it on film and kind of walked through a
little bit (Monday). One or two
kids turn their shoulders in the wrong direction or take on a block with the
wrong arm and that just means a crease and he's off to the races.
It seemed like on a handful of plays they just happen to have the
perfect play call against what defense we had.
So, hats off to them. Obviously,
they're well coached, tough team but yeah.
We did see some positive things.
We have just got to fix a couple little small things here and there
and we think that we're more competitive in those games,” said Fisher.
South Central (0-3) hosts rival New London (2-1) on Friday night.
The Wildcats are coming off a (44-8) win over Vanlue last week.
Fisher says there is definitely an intensity to this game.
“They're going to be hungry not playing a Firelands Conference game
in a couple of years and the schools being separated by a matter of miles.
The kids have kind of been filling me in, and the coaches as well,
I'm new to the whole thing rivalry wise.
They grew up with each other. They play a lot of combined youth
sports together. They know a lot
of kids from each school. In
years past, it was more of a later in the season game, but with the way the
Firelands works out it's our first conference game of the year,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We're looking forward to it.
Obviously, ready to get into the Firelands Conference.
All of our goals are still in front of us. We
mentioned that some of the other teams in the conference are 0-3 as well and
last year believe it or not a team that started out 0-3 and non-conference,
won the Firelands Conference. So,
we've kind of tried to show our kids that it still can be done.
We're looking forward to a hungry New London team that is well
coached. They've got some size
and some speed across the board. I
think it'll be a good match up for us.”
Published 9/10/24
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South
Central Faces Tough One
South Central knows they are going to have to play a lot better it
they are going to compete with Northmor as they host the Golden Knights on
Friday night in non-league play.
They were belted (32-7) last week by Willard on the opening Friday.
Coach Derek Fisher says it was an eye opener.
“It didn't go the way we expected it to.
We kind of dropped the ball in a couple different spots.
We kind of looked at the film and we kind of need to reevaluate some
of our philosophies and beliefs and try to coach some kids up a little bit
better. Hopefully, we can make a
jump from week one to week two,” he said.
Fisher says they have to work hard this week in getting better as a
football team. “We kind of
look at it as the scrimmages are good, but nothing really simulates real
live game action with the heat, being on turf and just the excitement of
week one. The band, the
atmosphere, everything that's in the air.
So, we kind of look at it as a stress test.
It kind of exposes our weaknesses and accents our strengths.
Some stuff surprised us in a positive and a negative way, but it also
kind of gives you a real life evaluation of where you're at.
So, we kind of used as a stress test and I think it's been good for
us for now we just have to fix the holes and try improving in the areas we
need the most improvement,” said Fisher.
Northmor blew out Upper Sandusky (48-14) last week as quarterback A.J.
Bauer threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns.
Fisher says this is an outstanding team.
“They're really good. They're
probably one of the best, if not the best team, on our schedule.
Coach (Scott) Armrose has a great thing going over there.
We kind of looked at their roster (Monday) and they have a bevy of
kids, they've got a ton of kids and we believe that some of the kids are
even just playing on one side of the ball.
So, it really allows them to specialize.
They get a chance to do more on one side of the ball kind of focus on
that throughout the week. They're
led by a senior quarterback, who's great with the deep ball.
They've got size across the board,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “They've got fresh legs where they could sub guys in and
just kind of two platoon them. Honestly,
he's doing it the right way. They're
well coached. We watched the
film, I kind of mentioned to our guys (Monday) afternoon how well coached
they are and how they don't overplay, they always do their 1/11th,
they stick within themselves, they let the system play to their favor and
they just kind of reap the rewards of doing things the right way.
They're a good team and it'll be a tough test for us this week.
Hats off to them on the job that they've done so far. I
know they had a great year last year and I think they return quite a bit
this year off of last year's team.”
Published 8/27/24
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South
Central Needs Discipline
South Central will make the short trip to Willard to face the Flashes
in a non-conference game to open the season on Friday night.
Coach Derek Fisher, is his second year with the Trojans, says his
team has gotten better this month. “We've
kind of given our kids points of emphasis to work on and focus on on both
sides of the ball throughout our scrimmages and our various tests.
We've seen improvement. We
try to stress that we're not making the same mistakes twice and we have seen
that get better,” said Fisher.
He says they are tired of hitting each other and they are ready for
the opener to get here. “They've
been seeing each other line up against each other for some time now and
we're ready to go play somebody. We're
ready for the excitement to start,” he said.
Willard won this matchup (35-6) last year, but South Central won the
previous four meetings with the Flashes.
Fisher calls Willard a big play offense.
“Willard's always pretty athletic top to bottom.
They have a quarterback that can throw it all over the place.
They have got a couple tall receivers and some fast kids like
traditional Willard where they can go get the ball and their offensive line
does a pretty good job of giving enough protection up front,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “On defense their flying around to the
ball. You see a lot of a lot of
times 11 hats going to the ball. They
like to confuse you a little bit. They're
kind of mixing some different looks and they're relentless on defense.
So, it will be a good test for us.”
Published 8/20/24
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South
Central Hammers Plymouth
South Central erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth
inning and turned a close game into a blowout in a (12-3) win over rival
Plymouth in a division IV district semifinal on Wednesday evening at Galion
High School.
They will be back on Friday evening to play Seneca East, the
defending district champion, and (8-7) winner over Mohawk, in the lidlifter,
for a district title.
South Central was leading (4-3) after five and half innings on
Wednesday when they put together the big inning, which included five hits
and three Plymouth errors.
Trojans coach Nick Kirk says the difference was their approach at the
plate. “The first couple
innings we were allowing the pitcher to pitch.
We weren't being aggressive. We
finally started being aggressive putting the ball in play.
You put the ball in play you put pressure on the other team and
that's what happens,” he said.
Starting pitcher Eric Sanders turned in a solid effort for the
Trojans. He allowed only four
hits, walked three and struck out eight.
Kirk says he has the kind of quality experience you are looking for
in these kinds of games. “Here's
got the experience. He is one of
our only two seniors and he knows how to work to get outs.
When he gets behind, he doesn't get flustered.
A lot of kids can fold, he doesn't, he's been in the pressure
situation. He's been on this
field before. Just big
leadership from him,” said Kirk.
Plymouth got on the board first when Jarrett Burrer walked to open
the game and eventually scored on an error.
In the bottom of the first South Central got a leadoff triple from
Cole Frankart and two Plymouth errors led to a (2-1) Trojans lead.
It became (4-1) in the third when three more Plymouth errors combined
with RBI singles from Weston June and Caiden Wilson led to two runs for the
Trojans.
Plymouth would add runs in the top of fourth, on an RBI double by
Garrett Bishop, and the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Elliott Hall.
However, things then imploded on the Big Red.
Plymouth had eight errors on the day and coach Jarrod Furr says they
can’t win doing that. “We
talked about that before the game in order to beat South Central, who's a
very good hitting team, we’re going to have to play clean baseball.
That's been our M.O. all year. We've
got to play clean baseball and we've got to come up with the timely hit and
unfortunately, we didn't do either,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
game, “Then we had the one explosive inning that that they went off on and
it kind of just killed morale there. When
you give up eight and it’s a close ballgame, it’s a one run ballgame at
the time, and we're in it, we're right there and then things just started
going badly and we couldn't right it.”
The eight run sixth for South Central started with a sacrifice bunt
and a sacrifice fly and Kirk says they can execute that small ball game.
“We have a couple kids that can just straight out bunt the ball.
They sometimes ask if they should bunt in this situation. We
tell them it's up to you. You
see the field, see where the players are playing and if you think you can
get one down the line go for it and they execute it perfectly,” said Kirk.
Kirk says they were able to take advantage of the Plymouth mistakes.
“We told them at the beginning you have got to be aggressive.
It's a bigger field and when balls get passed through to not be
overly aggressive where we’re getting thrown out and they executed that to
perfection as well. Balls are
going by and we have got to keep taking bases and that's what they did,”
he said.
Plymouth is a very young ballclub and Furr says the future is bright
for the Big Red. “At the
beginning of the year we didn't know what we were going to have.
We had 15 guys total come out for the program, so no JV.
We cut the JV program right off the rip.
With only 15 there's no way you can run a JV. A
lot of these guys could have benefited from JV pitching, a lot of the guys
that didn't get to play much. In
order to get better you have got to play baseball, that's the only way to
get better is experience. So, we
weren't quite sure at the beginning of the season what we're going to have
and then things started clicking, things started rolling.
Our underclassmen really out performed themselves.
Jarrett Burrer had one of the best years on the mound and at the
plate that that I've coached. He's
a bulldog, he's a great kid, and he’s only a sophomore.
Our starting first baseman is only a sophomore.
Our starting shortstop, not at the beginning of year, but here
tonight is a freshman. Our
centerfielder is a sophomore. So,
of the five seniors, four of them started pretty much every day.
Our starting catcher is a freshman.
So, we just have got to get the numbers.”
Published 5/23/24
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South
Central Claims Piece of Firelands
South Central had to wait a little bit, but Wednesday they claimed a
co-title in the Firelands Conference after a (9-5) win at Monroeville.
It was a game that was rained out last month and moved to Wednesday.
The Trojans share the title with Norwalk St. Paul at (11-3) in
conference play.
Coach Nick Kirk says the players have worked hard.
“That's a testament to the players and they deserve it.
They put in the extra time to put in the work.
They believe in each other. They
stayed positive when we were on slide there in the middle of the season.
They are battle tested and they were ready for the grilling season
that baseball is,” said Kirk.
Kirk says they were able to sting the ball with the bats Wednesday.
“It was one of our better hitting performances of the year, which
you kind of want going into the end of the season with the tournament
started,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Wednesday night, “We
play (Thursday) against a good
Buckeye Central team for sectional title.
It's nice to be able to go into that game after (Wednesday) with
getting the bats going and playing some good baseball.”
South Central (14-8) plays hosts to Buckeye Central (8-13) in a
division IV sectional final on Thursday.
Kirk says they will have to turn in a good effort to win.
“I know that they're going to be well coached.
Coach (Chad) Jensen’s been around for a while now.
They're going to come ready to win and that's the type of ball team
that he's put together for many years now.
We have to come ready to play. Like
I have said from the majority of the season now anybody can lose any given
day and we have to show up and play the baseball that we know we're capable
of playing, “ he said.
Published 5/15/24
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South
Central Belts Plymouth
South Central stayed in sole possession of first place in the
Firelands Conference as they laced Plymouth (14-6) in conference game on
Thursday evening.
Yes, they are in first place, but coach Nick Kirk says they don’t
talk about that much. “It
really is just take it game by game, play our baseball, let that do the
talking and not put pressure on ourselves.
We have been doing that really good lately.
Just playing good baseball. Not
making too many mistakes and backing it up with hitting and getting on base
and then was pitching as well,” he said.
Kirk says this was one of their best offensive performances of the
spring. “It was pretty
exciting. We finally started
getting multiple innings in a row with runs scored.
We saw a lot of pitches. That's
the one thing that we do really well I think as a team is we take a lot of
pitches trying to find the one that we want.
Put the ball in play, put pressure on the defense to make plays,
which is what we did (Thursday) and we're able to capitalize on some
mistakes and score some runs to give us a little bit of a cushion and play
some really good baseball,” said Kirk.
South Central (10-2,8-1) have two, two games series with New London
and Mapleton left, plus a makeup game with Monroeville.
Kirk says their offensive philosophy is to remain patient at the
plate. “It's a great thing to
see. We always tell them to find
your pitch that you can swing level and drive through and they take that to
heart. A lot of these kids play
baseball throughout the summer and this is one of their sports that they
just love to play. It really
shows that to be patient and get up there and find their own pitch, which
has worked in our favor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night,
“I think there are lot of them are starting to realize more pitches you
see you get the other team’s pitcher’s pitch count up.
Sometimes stamina is not there and they start to struggle.
You start waiting for of your pitch and either hit the pitch that you
want or draw that walk that a lot of them are doing now.”
Published 4/26/24
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South
Central Pounds St. Paul
South Central moved into a share of first place in the Firelands
Conference with a (10-4) victory at home over Norwalk St. Paul on Thursday
evening.
The win moved them into a tie of first place with St. Paul.
Coach Nick Kirk says they got pretty good efforts in all phases of
the game. “We played pretty
well. We capitalized on a couple
errors here and there by St. Paul and played an all around pretty good game.
Aaron Hauler pitched for us.
He got himself in trouble a couple of times, but was able to get
himself out of it and had a really good showing (Thursday) night. I
believe he had 13, 14 strikeouts, so pretty solid performance.
Our bats came alive and that really helps when you put it in play and
make the defense plays good things happen,” he said.
Kirk says Hauler has really improved as a pitcher.
“He's been working on it all winter, even last year.
He's been one of our aces and proud of him.
He's grown a lot over the past couple years.
Maxwell for St. Paul is definitely a really good pitcher, but I feel
like Hauler definitely making this way up there as well.
So, definitely proud of him and the way that he does carry himself. I
always preached to our pitchers don't show any emotion out there, don't let
a ball call that you think is a strike make you show emotion towards the
umpire. That seems to be working
out pretty well for him, settle down and get back to the mechanics and keep
us in ballgames a lot,” said Kirk.
South Central (7-2,5-1) travels to St. Paul (7-3,6-1) on Friday for
the rematch.
Kirk says you have to be on your game if you are going to win in the
Firelands. “If you look around
our conference there's about five pretty solid teams and then there's three
that you could lose to any given night.
That's the good thing about baseball is any team can lose at any time
as long as they come to play and the other team doesn't necessarily play
their best,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Definitely a quality win for us
if we want to keep any hopes alive of chasing after the conference we need
to win out the rest of the year. Teams
are going to be gunning for us, I want to don't put any pressure on us, but
as long as we keep playing baseball the way we are I don't see us having too
many losses. You never know,
that's the great thing about baseball.”
Published 4/19/24
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South
Central Gets Crestview Again
South Central shutout Crestview (2-0) behind Eric Sanders in
Firelands Conference play on Wednesday evening.
They share first place in the league with Norwalk St. Paul, a (13-4)
winner over Western Reserve on Wednesday.
Coach Nick Kirk says Sanders was great and so was their defense.
“Eric Sanders, I’ve been around him for four years for baseball
for high school and I would have to say that that's his best game that he's
pitched in those four years. The
defense behind him at third became a hoover (Wednesday) for us and made a
lot of plays at third and then the outfield stepped up as well. All
around it was a pretty good performance by us,” he said.
South Central (4-1,2-0) scored both of their runs in the first inning
off Crestview starter Tyson Ringler.
Kirk says they made some fundamental plays.
“Our bats actually weren't that great (Wednesday).
The first inning, that's where we scored two runs.
We led off the game and got our first two guys on, stole third base
and then Eric helped himself out with a ground ball to the right side and
was able to score a run. Alex
Hamons hit a sac fly out to the outfield.
Two runs was the difference. So,
after that both sides were just going back forth with great pitching.
Hats off to Crestview, I believe it was Tyson Ringler. He
pitched really phenomenal. When
you look at the box score, we had 10 strikeouts as a team.
To be able to pull off a win says a lot about our pitching and our
defense,” said Sanders.
South Central also beat Crestview (8-5) on Tuesday.
The Cougars are the defending Firelands Conference champs and
preseason favorite.
Kirk says they are playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
“A lot of people don't expect us to be a good team or expect us to
be at the top, but with a group of kids that we have.
We have a sophomore class that is monstrous.
We have a lot of talent in there and then we have upperclassmen that
have the experience, that have the talent, that have been around our program
for three to four years and know the expectations as they won a conference
championship two years ago,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“They know the expectations, but the one thing that we've been preaching
is just being positive. A lot of
kids come off the side when they strike out or have an error or anything
like. We preach picking each
other up. At the end of the day,
it doesn't matter what you did individually as long as there's a win at the
end of it. That's what we've
been preaching. Even
(Wednesday), the kids got down and I told them it doesn't matter, move on to
the next at bat. What matters is
that scoreboard is saying it’s 2-0 right now.
So, the more positive you are, the better outcomes are.”
Published 4/11/24
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South
Central Needs Defense
South Central hosts Crestline on Thursday night in a non-conference
game.
They have one win each a quarter of the way through the season.
South Central lost (75-50) to Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says again it got away from them early.
“Once again, the game was decided in the first quarter.
We lost the first quarter 28-8. We
came out flat and just letting these teams, not just St. Paul, but Buckeye
Central and Lucas. Here recently
we just have been losing first quarters of games and getting blown out in
the first quarter. We were down
20 at the end of the first and we really only lost the rest of the game by
five and we tied the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “There were a lot of positives that came from last Friday against
St. Paul. Defensively, once
again, we weren't able to slow them down.
We didn't meet them with any resistance.
We gave up 75 points and 28 of them were in the first quarter.
We let them get too comfortable and left some shooters open, which I
told them that they were going to shoot.
Kirk and Frazee are good players and they were able to hit five and
four threes respectively and then the big McCall kid had a big first quarter
as well getting a lot of easies.”
Yost says they have made some changes on how they want to play
defense. “Defense is where we
got to get better. I think we
have been getting better. We had
a good practice last Saturday and they had the last two days off and we were
back at it (Tuesday). Our
biggest emphasis right now is defense and continue to get better at that end
of the floor because it has to get better or these losses will keep piling
up. We made some changes here
defensively schematically and that kind of thing, some defensive principles
here we've changed here over the last couple of days to try to improve our
team defense. So, hopefully it
works come Thursday night,” he said.
Crestline (1-6) lost (78-42) to Kidron Central Christian in a
Mid-Buckeye Conference game on Friday.
Yost says they will play some zone and trap a little bit too.
“I saw their Buckeye Central game and coach (Pat) Durham was able
to go to that game. I know
they'll play a little 2-3 zone, so we’ll have to get ready for that.
We'll have to work on that (Wednesday) in practice and little 1-2-2
half court trap as well they threw in there.
They have got a really big kid in the post and some guards.
We’ll have to play well to beat them.
All these teams are hungry to win.
If you just look at the record we're 1-5, well we want to win just as
bad as they want to win. Both of
our records are probably where we'd like to be at, but doesn't mean they
don't want to win just as bad as we do.
So, we have got to go out there and execute and play hard and get
really play a complete game, four quarters.
We haven't really been able to put four quarters together since game
one against St. Peter’s, so that's what I'm looking forward to on Thursday
night,” said Yost.
Published 12/27/23
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South
Central Has to Be Better on Defense
South Central returns to play in the Firelands Conference on Friday
night as they play at Norwalk St. Paul against the Flyers.
They feel (69-45) to Buckeye Central in a non-conference game on
Tuesday night.
Coach Dallas Yost says they got behind too much early in the game.
“Yeah Tuesday, we came out real slow.
We just came out flat I thought.
There in the first quarter we couldn't make a shot, but we kept
settling for too many jump shots early and we got down it was 14-0 after the
first quarter. They held us
scoreless in the first and that made us play catch up the rest of the game.
When you have got that big a deficit in the first quarter you have
got to play a perfect three quarters of basketball to win it.
We got it down to five or six there in the fourth and they made one
run and pushed it out to about 13. Then
we had a couple of technical fouls, which they got to shoot four free throws
at which pushed it out close to 20 and we were never able to get back under
20 after that,” he said.
Yost says to start winning games they have got to start defending
better. “I was more upset with
our defense. Our offense, you
know, some games you're going to be hot some games you're going to be cold.
Our defense needs to be better. We
have got to stay in front of the ball better and sit down and guard and let
our defense keep us in games. So, that's what we've been focused on these
last two days being able to stay in front and not let teams in the paint.
It finished up a tough three-game stretch there, which we had three
games in five days. I just
thought the kids came out flat and they weren’t ready to go, but we've had
a good couple of days of practice here in preparation for St. Paul,” said
Yost.
South Central (1-4,0-2) plays at Norwalk St. Paul (2-1,2-0) on Friday
night in “FC” action.
Yost says they are athletic and have a solid starting five and he
emphasizes that they need to play very good defense.
“I was able to make it to the western game (Wednesday) night.
They are really long and athletic.
They're not as deep as they've been in years past.
They only played about six guys, but the six that they play are
pretty good. They have got
multiple scores, multiple shooters and multiple guys that are driving hard
in their dribble drive offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
afternoon, “Once again we're going to have to be ready to sit down and
guard and play better defense and ultimately turn them over a little bit and
get them playing our style of game there.
This honestly, I've been preaching it all week is defense, defense,
defense because we can't keep giving up 70 points expected to win games.
We'd have to be really hot shooting the ball, which we can get hot,
but we can't just count on that every game we have got to play better
defense so that's our key to win on Friday night.”
Published 12/22/23
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South
Central Needs to Push it
South Central faces a double weekend against traditional powers as
they host Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night and
head for Lucas for a non-conference game on Saturday night.
Last Friday, they were brutalized (76-28) by Firelands Conference
favorite Crestview.
Coach Dallas Yost says they found it difficult to get into any kind
of offense against the Cougars. “We
already knew how good Crestview was, that's kind of what we expected, but
their size and athleticism I think really bothered us.
They have a lot of guys 6’4”,6’5”.
They shot it pretty well and they get out and transition and do some
different things that way. Really
offensively we didn't get in the rhythm at all and they took us out of what
we were trying to do. I told the
guys with how they play defense you're going to have to be ready to make
one-on-one plays and against that size and athleticism 6’4”,6’5” our
guys weren't able to do that and we weren't able to execute and run our
stuff in the half court. So, I
thought our 2-2-1 press looked pretty good early on, but you have got to
make baskets to get in it and we didn't score very well, so we're never able
to get in it. I think we've had
a good week of practice and I think we're ready for Friday night,” said
Yost.
South Central (1-1,0-1) hosts Western Reserve (1-2,0-0) on Friday
night. The Riders lost (55-39)
to LaGrange Keystone last Saturday.
Yost says this is a team that rebounds the ball very well.
“I have got a lot of respect for that program. I
mean anytime you want to win a Firelands Conference championship you are
probably going to have to go through them.
Chris (Sheldon) does a really good job over there.
They hit the offensive glass really hard, they're going to play
really hard for 32 minutes and they got they have got some depth, they play
eight, nine guys. They have some
good players, some good shooters, so we're going to have to be ready to go
on Friday night.” he said.
Lucas (4-0) has looked pretty good so far.
Yost says the Cubs are always are going to be a challenge.
“They are another really good team and they've been really good in
the last few years making district runs.
I have respect for that program as well.
We're going to have to play well both Friday and Saturday to come
away with wins. We have got to
try to get both teams to play our style of game and not their style.
If we can get it up and down and play that way, I think we'll have a
shot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We've been
preaching it all week in practice, really all year, trying to get the guys
to play that way and they're getting better at it. Lucas
is really good and I have got a lot of respect for them.
I've been more focused on Western right now, watching more film on
them, but I've checked out a little bit of Lucas. We'll
pivot to them on Saturday.”
Published 12/15/23
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South
Central Excited to Play Crestview
South Central gets its first test in the Firelands Conference on
Friday night as they travel to Crestview to meet the Cougars, the defending
champions.
They got the season started on the right foot by whipping Mansfield
St. Peter’s (65-36) last Friday in non-conference play.
Coach Dallas Yost says it was convincing win, but they know Friday
night will be a much bigger challenge. “It
was good first win for us. It
was good confidence builder for us. We
wanted not only to win the game, but to win it convincingly, to look good
doing it and I think the kids did pretty well.
We won by 29, but we know it’s a much tougher opponent this week.
That's no disrespect to St. Pete's, but we all know what Crestview
did last year. They have got
five of their top seven back, they are picked to win the Firelands
conference again this year. Going
undefeated last year, that was rightfully so.
So, we know the task at hand heading into this week,” he said.
Crestview (3-0) outscored Ontario (105-94) on Saturday night,
establishing a school record for points, and then beat Fredericktown (79-56)
on Tuesday night.
Yost says they are athletic and can do a lot of things with the ball.
“Basically, at all times I got five guys on the floor that can put
it on the floor and drive around you, but also can shoot the three.
So, that makes it very difficult and their length and athleticism as
well. They have got some
athletes and I don't think they have a guy under 6’2” and their
rotation. Coach (Pat) Durham has
been able to watch him a couple of times and in person here recently on
Saturday and then Fredericktown on Tuesday.
Obviously, we've been watching some film, but we know enough based
off of last year as well,” he told Swankonsports.com Wednesday night,
“We know how good they are and how athletic and how long they.
They're going to push with pace in transition.
They're handful in transition because of that size and athleticism.
So, I think the guys would be ready to play.
I think they're eager to go out there and compete against a team of
Crestview’s caliber it will kind of be a measuring stick for us if we can
go out there and compete for 32 minutes and play as hard as we can, give it
all we’ve got, leave it all on the floor and just live with the
results.”
Crestview being the conference favorite, that would mean they would
be favored in this game, but Yost says they don’t look at it that way.
“No one really expected much of us this year.
We have got a new staff, only have got three letter winners back and
got a lot of young guys in the rotation that didn't get varsity time last
year or sit varsity or anything like that.
We had a transfer and then we had a kid not come out for us that was
a starter last year. So, that
hurt our depth a little bit as well. The
expectation is for them to come out and blow us out and that's what people
are expecting, but that's not what we're expecting.
We're expecting compete for 32 minutes and go toe to toe with them on
Friday night,” said Yost.
Published 12/07/23
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South
Central Ready to Go
South Central opens another new era on high school boys’ basketball
on Friday night as they are at home for Mansfield St. Peter’s in
non-conference play.
First year coach Dallas Yost, a Trojan alum, says there has been a
difference in intensity and focus in the gym this week.
“There's definitely a sense of urgency in the building.
We had our last scrimmage (Monday) night against Danbury and now we
have got three days of prep to get ready for St. Pete’s.
We haven't really been focusing on St. Pete's specifically, it's been
more about us just getting everything in that we want to have them by game
one. After our last scrimmage
(Monday) night we know we have three days of prep.
We’ve kind of turned our focus the St. Pete’s and you can feel
their urgency in the building as we're nearing game one,” he said.
Yost says they have focused on getting everything they want to
installed and he says they are confident they are in good position to play
well. “We actually got lucky
this year with an extra week of preseason.
Usually at least from my experience that I know about, we usually
start Thanksgiving week and we got an extra week of preseason, so that
helps. There is still limited
time to get everything in, especially when you got a completely new system
and you have got new coaches and you have got a bunch of you know young guys
and new varsity faces anyway they might have been in the program last year
or not at the varsity level or not contributing at the varsity level as we
have only got three letter winners back,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday night, “We're throwing a lot at them.
We're doing some different complex things defensively and offensively
that you know hopefully will surprise some of the teams.
I think they're handling it pretty well and we got everything in so
far that we want in in for game one. We'll
make some make some changes as we go throughout the year for other matchups.”
St. Peter’s has struggled in recent seasons, winning only two games
last year. Yost says they are
going to try and feature some pressure.
“Basically, I have only got one film off of them.
They run some sort of dribble drive and defensively they do ball
pressure in the half court. They're
pretty opportunistic defensively that way trying to get steals and block
shots and are aggressive in that sense.
So, we have to take care of it and handle the pressure, but I mean we
should be used to that that's our style of play.
We practice it every day in practice, so I think as long as we do
what we do and we do it well I think we should be fine,” said Yost.
Published 11/29/23
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South
Central Wants to Run
South Central is going to be a basketball team that really wants to
force the tempo and try and get some easy baskets this year.
First year coach Dallas Yost says he likes what he sees from the
players so far. “The kids are
really working their butts off. I
mean they have been working their butts off since I took the job back in
April. We had a tough offseason
program. Five days a week we
were doing stuff all offseason. We
gave them every opportunity to get in the weight room and get in the gym and
it's kind of translating quickly here to start the season.
We were missing some guys there to start.
The first couple of days we had some guys in and out, but these last
few days have been really good and the guys are working really hard.
They're buying into our new system.
We have got a lot of new coaches.
We have got coach (Pat) Durham still on the staff, so he's retained
from the old staff, but everyone else is new.
We have got a lot of new ideas and a new system that we're playing
and they're buying into it quickly. So,
it's been a really good start I think,” said Yost.
Yost says this year they want to run the floor as much as possible.
“We do want to push the tempo offensively and we're going to do
some different things defensively as well to try to keep the other offenses
out of rhythm and keep them on their toes a bit.
So, we are pushing the pace and they're getting better at that.
I told the kids most coaches tell you not to play in a hurry, but
they try to play fast, but I literally want them playing in a hurry and to
become comfortable with being in a hurry basically and hopefully that kind
of surprises some teams,” he said.
Yost says if they are going to be able to run this style they have
got to be in good shape and they are going to make sure that’s the case.
“The kids have soon realized that. I
mean the kids that were with us for our fall program, we didn't do much
conditioning over the summer and spring, but in our fall program the guys
that didn't play football and they were going through those conditioning
workouts all fall. Some of our
football guys and that kind of thing are kind of getting a little reality
check with the conditioning. If
we are going to play that type of style that's one thing we have got to be
is in really good shape and not just in good shape and in better shape than
any than every other team we play because that'll be an advantage that
hopefully we can gain,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening,
“We've been hitting hard conditioning.
I block out about 20, 25 minutes other of every practice where it's
just conditioning. At first the
guys, it stinks to go through and I told them it's only going to be the
first couple weeks. I think
they're buying into it though. I
mean doesn't mean they're really enjoying it, but they know, they understand
that that's part of the process. It's
going to be a fun brand of basketball that we're going to play.
It's just we have got to get through this these first couple weeks of
conditioning here and I think they're handling it pretty well.”
Published 11/08/23
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South
Central With Another Big Challenge in Crestview
South Central will be at home Friday night for the Crestview Cougars,
the defending Firelands Conference champions.
In their conference opener last week, the Trojans (1-4,0-1) lost
(41-6) to streaking Monroeville.
Coach Derek Fisher says it reiterated to him what they need to do to
be competitive. “Obviously,
ran into a really good Monroeville team, 3-1 and now 4-1, only lost by one
point on the season. They're
solid all the way around and kind of gave me a little bit of a taste of what
to expect in the Firelands. Obviously,
everybody kind of ramps it up and the kids all know each other and they're
little extra motivation there. So,
definitely Monroeville give all the credit to them, their coaching staff and
their kids, they were ready to play on Friday,” said Fisher.
Crestview also (1-4,0-1) lost (26-6) in a non-conference game to
Lucas last Friday.
Fisher says they Cougars are not a 1-4 kind of team.
“Coach (Steve) Haverdill and his staff obviously built quite the
program over there. They have a
long standing tradition. They're
1-4, but their record is not indicative of their performance and their play.
They have played some bigger schools, played some tough teams, some
tough games that came down to the wire,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “They again pose a threat to us as a Firelands conference
foe. They're well coached,
they're big up front on both lines of scrimmage, their skilled, they don't
make a lot of mistakes. They
kind of play the field position game and play within their system and their
scheme that you can tell they do what they've been coached to do.”
During their recent success Crestview has been a run based team, but
this year quarterback Liam Kuhn is the conference leader in passing yards.
Fisher says he has all of the tools.
“He's a big, tall kid back there, he's experienced, he definitely
has an arm and he's got some receivers that will go up and get the ball for
him. They run good complementary
routes, they know how to get guys open and the guys up front give them
enough time to throw the ball. So,
he’s definitely firing all cylinders at this point in the season for
them,” he said.
Published 9/19/23
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South
Central Must Stop the Run
South Central entertains Monroeville for Homecoming on Friday night
in Firelands Conference play.
The Trojans (1-3,0-0) were throttled by Vermilion (55-0) last week in
non-conference play.
This starts a new season for the Trojans as they begin conference
play. Coach Derek Fisher says it
has a different feeling. “A
lot of our kids have a lot of familiarity with them.
Being new to the program they're kind of filling me in on a lot. They
grew up together, they competed against each other.
They know from different aspects of life and different sports.
So, yeah it is a little bit close, but we're learning as we go as
well,” he said.
South Central hosts Monroeville (3-1,1-0), a (46-34) winner last week
over defending conference champion Crestview.
They have ran for more than 300 yards in both of the last two weeks.
Fisher says the Eagles are playing some very good football.
“Coach (Tylor) Nester has a good thing going over.
They are one point away from being undefeated.
Tiffin Calvert beat them by one.
So, they're definitely building.
They are another tough team for us in our conference play.
They are led by their quarterback, running back, strong offensive
line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They are good
defensively, sound defense, good solid tacklers.
Everything we've seen on film is pretty impressive.
They are, like I said, they are one point away from being undefeated
and they beat some pretty good teams and done it soundly and all three
phases of the game.”
If they are to have a chance on Friday night, Fisher says they have
to be able to contain that Monroeville run game and that won’t be easy.
“We have got to stop the run. We
want to pride ourselves on winning both lines of scrimmage.
Obviously, they don't disguise what they want to do.
They want to run the ball, they want to control the clock, kind of
put you in not a great situation. It
all starts and runs through their quarterback, he's a heck athlete, along
with their tailback, but he's the one that kind of drives the whole thing.
They like to control the ball, they like to run it, try to beat you
up up front,” said Fisher.
Published 9/14/2023
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South
Central Wants to Build on Last Week
South Central gets its final test before Firelands Conference play
begins as they make the tip to Vermilion to challenge the Sailors on Friday
night.
After starting the season with two losses the Trojans slaughtered
Fremont St. Joe (73-6) last week, scoring 67 points in the first half.
Coach Derek Fisher says they saw some things finally pay off.
“Last week was a breath of fresh air get some to finally get some
of our guys going and instill some confidence in our system.
Obviously, things worked out in our favor.
We were able to get some early momentum on our side. We
always say do your 1/11th and trust the system and they started
to see that the little things that paid off.
Some of the stuff that we weren't able to breakthrough on early in
the season, we kind of paid more attention to detail this past week and
focused on a couple things cleaning up a bunch of little things.
Those things really showed up and were selected on film, so that was
a good feeling,” said Fisher.
Fisher says they hope to build on the momentum they got last week.
“We're hoping that this gets us going.
We're entering our last week of non conference play with a team that
I think we are just playing for one year, a significantly bigger team than
what we are. So, we kind of told
them that this is the chance to kind of come out and prove that we can
hopefully keep things going just stay within ourselves again.
We still are not perfect and we have stuff to clean up.
We always talk about process over results, so we continue to focus on
the process and we hope that the results will turn out in our favor, like
they did this past week,” he said.
Vermilion (2-1) rocked Willard (49-20) in their week three game.
Fisher says they are going to be a physical run team.
“They're starting to put it together right at the right time, which
is unfortunate for us, but it is what it is.
It's a good test for us. They
offer a little bit different of a look.
They're big up front, they've got a couple kids they like to pound
the ball with. Kind of a pro con
look, similar to what we saw last week.
Defensively, they give us a little bit different look,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “A couple adjustments need to be made.
Some coaching this week to adjusting our system to fit what we're
going to see, what we think we're going to see.
They gave Willard everything and then some last week.
They have won two of their last three games, so we know we're coming
into a buzzsaw, but we think that this will be a good test for us as our
last nonconference game.”
Published 9/05/23
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For
South Central it’s About Them
South Central is trying to pick up the pieces as they host Fremont
St. Joe this week in a non-conference game.
Northmor destroyed the Trojans (60-0) last week.
Coach Derek Fisher says they had some things they had to improve and
that did not happen. “Just to
kind of recap of last week. We
said that we needed to execute and we need to be more physical and I think
that kind of showed itself again on Friday.
So, as we look back on Friday it seemed like we didn't take advantage
of those two things or capitalize on those two things.
We are kind of in the same boat as last week when need to execute
when need to be more physical,” he said.
Frankly, last week is one of those experiences that the Trojans were
like to file and forget, according to Fisher.
“There are a lot of times where you don't want to watch it.
There isn't a lot to learn from there.
There is something long term, but it's also kind of those things
where that anomaly but that's the outlier and that's the one time that you
have a performance like that. So,
we did learn something a little bit. I
can't say we watched all of it. We
are trying to clean up some things. We
think it just kind of exposed some of the things that we've been trying to
fix it kind of magnified that. So,
we just want to say we need to definitely focus on those things this
week,” said Fisher.
Now, St. Joe (0-2) is really in the very same position.
They were beaten (67-0) by Buckeye Central last Friday.
Fisher says really this week is about them improving.
“They're young and kind in the same boat we're in.
They're learning and trying to figure out what's best for them and
what works for their system. It's
kind of an old school approach with a fullback and tight end.
So, they'll present a new challenge for us.
Obviously, a quick turn around from what we saw last week.
Seeing a different defense, seeing a different offense and another
team from a different conference. So,
they present a good kind of test for us this week,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We told our kids it doesn't
matter who we play this week we need to focus on us right now.
We need to get better at a couple good things, focus on a couple
things to get better at. So,
that's kind of where we're at, we're kind of intrinsically looking within
and trying to clean up our own issues right now.”
Published 8/30/23
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South
Central Has to be More Physical
South Central faces a different kind of challenge this week as they
travel to Northmor to meet the Golden Knights in a non-conference game.
Last week, they gave up a boatload of passing yards in losing to the
Willard Flashes (35-6) in their opener.
It is expected that Northmor will run it a little more.
Coach Derek Fisher says they must execute better and he wants the
Trojans to be more physical. “We
need to get better at execution. Obviously,
a new coach, some new terminology, some new systems, but our kids just need
to improve a little bit physically, be a little more physical up front.
We tackled well. I like
the way we ended the game. I
don't have any real disappointment other than just executing the little
things and get a little more physical that's about it,” he said.
Now, leading up to the game with Northmor, Fisher says they have a
had a solid week of practice. “It
has been positive. Our kids just
started school this week too, so usually that causes a couple distractions. I
can't complain if their effort level, they're execution in practice.
We got over the hump of starting school usually that's a slow day.
We kind of debunked that myth this year and had a good practice.
The kids are excited. They
say you make your most improvement from week one to week two, so just kind
of trying to keep the morale up. They've
done a good job of that. I can't
complain, everything's been good, so we have had a good week of practice,”
said Fisher.
Northmor (1-0) beat Upper Sandusky (42-21) last Friday.
They got two interception returns for TD’s in the fourth quarter
from Hunter Falk to seal the win in their opener.
Fisher says Northmor is the whole package.
“They're physical, they have a quarterback that's really accurate,
kind of a wing-T offense, solid defensive line up front, big up front, big,
trustworthy, experienced offensive line.
They like to get the ball on the edges.
They also like to run their system up the middle, some talented
skilled guys at running back, accurate quarterback, and speed of the
secondary,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It'll be a
good test for us. They're a
senior and junior led team. I
think they have 12 seniors and 19 returning letterman.
So, it'll be a good kind of barometer for us and a chance for us to
hopefully step up our physicality.”
Published 8/25/23
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South
Central Has to Set the Tone
South Central hosts Huron County neighbor Willard in a non-league
game on Friday night to open the season.
First year coach Derek Fisher says they are excited to play one that
counts. “Our kids are excited
and the coaching staff. We feel
like we've been preparing a lot throughout the summer for this opportunity.
Lots of installs, some new concepts and new schemes.
So, it'll be exciting to finally strap it up for week one underneath
the lights,” said Fisher.
Fisher says the Flashes clearly have the kids to move the ball.
“They are a hungry bunch. They
look a lot like us. They are big
up front, they've got a quarterback that can obviously sling it, a couple
big receivers, some speed at the skilled positions.
Defensively, they're pretty sound in their assignments, they try to
keep everything in front of them and make plays.
It'll be a good test for our guys for week one,” he said.
South Central beat Willard (44-43) last season at Willard.
Last season, the Flashes showed the ability to score points most of
the season.
Fisher knows Willard hasn’t forgotten how that game turned out.
“I wasn't here for that, but I was able to watch it and there was a
lot of talent that graduated. We
are hopeful that we can respond to the challenge like the like last year's
South Central team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Coach
Fickiesen did a great job of getting everybody ready.
We know Willard hasn't forgotten about that.
We know that they are hungry and determined this year and have a bad
taste in their mouth, so hopefully we can come out and set the tone and play
our brand of football.”
Published 8/15/23
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South
Central Headed in Right Direction
South Central kids are hungry for success on the football field this
fall.
The Trojans have a new coach in Derek Fisher, a former assistant at
Mansfield Madison.
He says the kids are committed to getting better.
“First off, I'm just excited to take this new opportunity.
I want to thank the administration, the fellow coaches, the kids, and
the community. So far, so good.
One thing I've noticed about this group is that they're pretty
resilient and pretty much anything you throw out they take with a grain of
salt. There are a lot of kids
that are being asked to do some different things.
We've had great turnout, great numbers at lifting, voluntary stuff
and then there's been times we've asked them to be at the school for
multiple hours at a time, they've all done a great job,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “One thing I will say about this
group is that they definitely give you everything they have.
Everything's yes, Sir and they're quick to do what you've asked them.
They're eager to learn, they're anxious to win, they're excited,
they're hungry, and I couldn't be happier with the opportunity in front of
me.”
South Central opens the season at home against the Willard Flashes in
non-conference play on August 18.
Fisher says their offense will be a blend.
“I can appreciate the wide open offense being that I was with coach
Scott Valentine last year and you were shotgun, five wide, the majority of
the year, picked up a lot of stuff from him.
The year before that I was in a wing-T offense at Madison.
So, kind of a hybrid, kind of a mixture.
At this point we're trying to see what sort of system we can put in
that fits our kids best and also is going to help us in the Firelands
Conference. We don't want to try
to put a square peg in a round hole. We
want to make sure that that we have an offense that marries well with our
defense, that works well in the conference and that will travel well when
the weather gets cold when stuff like that happens when running the ball
kind is a premium. So, we're
trying to figure out what works best. We
don't have a set, tried and true system, it's kind of a hybrid if you
will,” Fisher.
Execution is going to be a big key for the Trojans.
Fisher says they have to be improved in that aspect.
“We need to execute better. We
were blessed with having the ability to have 13 practices and even the state
added five more during the summer, so we took advantage of those both
implementing a new system, having new voices, just kind of different things
asked of the kids. One of my
biggest sayings is failure to do the little things makes you realize there's
no such thing as little things. So,
executing and paying attention to detail.
We were just watching film (Monday), breaking down some of our
scrimmage with Margaretta and even just simple things like aligning, little
things here and there. Perfectionist
is an understatement as far as I go, but the kids are starting to learn
that. So, if we could just clean
up a few things pay attention to details and execute I think we'll be on the
right foot,” he said.
Published 8/09/23
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South
Central Beats Plymouth This Time
South Central picked up a big win on Tuesday night as they downed
rival Plymouth (9-5) in Firelands Conference play.
Coach Nick Kirk says they did a very good job after losing (16-1) to
Monday to Plymouth. He says they
were ready to play this time. “We
knew that (Monday) we didn't play the best baseball that we could.
It was probably our worst outing.
We came back (Tuesday) and our kids were a lot better focused and had
a lot of better attitude,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night
after the win, “We went up by one, then we got back down, I think we were
down by one, and then we returned to hitting the ball well and running the
bases and capitalizing on some mistakes that Plymouth made.
We were able to end up going head by four runs and put it away. Our
pitching was really good by Aaron Hauler (Tuesday), he's another one of our
aces and as a sophomore he does everything that we ask of him.
He's going to be a really good bright spot next to Eric Sanders for
pitching for us.”
Kirk says the Trojans were resilient on Tuesday and he wants them to
stay positive and they did a good job with that.
“We have some young kids and it’s nice to see that they're
resilient and they won't get down too much on themselves, that's what we
preach. Baseball, you have got
to take the next pitch and you make a mistake, pick up your teammate,
positivity leads to success. So,
we just preach that. They
responded very well (Tuesday). Now,
there's going to be certain times of this season where we might not respond
as well as we should, but as long as they continue to grow and learn and
support each other the success will come from that,” said Kirk.
South Central trails Crestview by a game in the Firelands Conference
and they play each other next week for a two game series.
Kirk says they know what their assignment is this spring.
“They're very talented. I
know that they are full of a bunch of athletes and talent.
We're going to have to win every single game in the conference and
knock them off twice to even have a chance, but I think with the team that
we have that we're very well capable of doing it if we show up and play
baseball like we did (Tuesday) night,” he said.
Published 4/12/23
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South
Central Shuts Out Mapleton
Eric Sanders gave up only two hits and South Central blanked Mapleton
(4-0) on Monday evening in a Firelands Conference game.
It was the first win the coaching career of Nick Kirk.
Kirk says Sanders was outstanding.
“Our ace Eric Sanders had a complete game with eight strikeouts,
zero walks, but he did hit a batter. Other
than that, it was a pretty good gem that he pitched,” said Kirk.
Kirk says Sanders had three pitches that he could throw for strikes.
“He had his curveball going and he likes to throw in a knuckleball
every now and again. He just
kept the hitters on their toes and then he had his fastball going and they
couldn't catch up to it,” he said.
Early in the season, the Trojans (1-2,1-0) have had some issues
scoring runs, but Kirk says they were more patient and also got their
running game going a little bit. “We
hit the ball a little bit better than we have in the past two games.
We worked ourselves into really good hitting counts, worked the count
into our favor at a lot of the time or battled back, saw a lot of pitches,
which we haven't been doing in the previous two games,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday evening, “When we had runners
on, we capitalized. We hit them
in, we stole a lot of bases. took a lot of bases and that was the key to our
success.”
Published 4/04/23
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South
Central Can Do it
South Central is the defending baseball champion in the Firelands
Conference and they believe they can repeat and claim the title again.
First year coach Nick Kirk says they have good talent again, but they
have a lot to prove. “I think
that we have a lot of work still to do.
We are young in some positions, but we also have about five or six
leaders that are going to step up and keep their heads above water and kind
of show these freshmen the ropes. I
feel like we have a chance to repeat. A
lot of people have counted us out, but we have Karl Ferber, who is going to
have a strong senior season along with two aces in Eric Sanders and Aaron
Hauler,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think that
they're going to really be the catalyst to our team this year.
So far, I mean we haven't really been able to get outside, just like
everyone else, it's been raining, it's been cold.
We just had a scrimmage (Wednesday) night and we showed that we can
actually hit with just about anybody, score runs, baserunning. I
think that the sky is the limit for this group as long as they keep each
other accountable and keep each other motivated and stay positive, I think
the success will come from just that alone.”
Ferber, a very solid pitcher for the Trojans last year, will not
pitch this year due to Tommy John surgery, but Kirk says his going to hit
the ball. “He's been working
really hard. I mean first
scrimmage, the first pitch that he saw, he hit a home run.
So, I mean can't really say too much more about it.
He's going to be a stud. He
showed it last year. We had a
1-2 with him and Sam Seidel, who's playing in Bowling Green this year. I
think Karl’s going to fill his shoes on the offensive side of things and
be the catalyst that scores a lot of runs for us this year,” said Kirk.
South Central plays its first game Monday against Bucyrus in
non-conference play. They open
Firelands Conference play April 3, at home, against Mapleton.
Kirk says they have to believe in themselves if they are going to be
successful this spring. “That's
one thing we've been preaching. If
we want to go back-to-back then we can't settle for mediocracy in practices.
As long as they believe and they show up every day to get better than
they were the day prior like I said the sky is the limit.
They're very well capable of competing with anybody in this
league,” he said.
Published 3/23/22
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Fickiesen
Steps Down at South Central
After six seasons at the helm, Corey Fickiesen has stepped down as
the football coach at South Central High School.
Fickiesen was Firelands Conference coach of the year in 2018 and led
the Trojans to their first ever, and still only, playoff win over Fairport
Harding on October 9, 2020. He
also led them to their first ever playoff appearance in a non-COVID year in
2021. He also severed as
assistant varsity basketball coach and had a (4-1) record when substituting
as head coach.
Fickiesen is a graduate of New Matamoras Frontier near Marietta and
Ashland University.
He says this was one of the hardest decisions of his professional
life. “It's a tough decision,
probably one of the hardest ones I've ever made, but it's just time.
It's pretty much the only thing behind it.
There are some other opportunities out there, but nothing set in
stone yet. I've had the
opportunity to coach some great kids, be a part of a great community,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “There's a long list of people
that I couldn't thank enough, but like I said sometimes it's just time and
that time is now.”
Fickiesen was (26-35) in his six years at South Central.
He says being a head football coach is not easy, it’s time
consuming, but he will always treasure his time with the Trojans.
“It's been really difficult when you feel like you've poured
everything you have into it, blood, sweat, tears, time away from family, but
honestly I wouldn't change it because I got to spend a lot of time with a
lot of valuable people. I got to
coach a lot of great individuals, who I love dearly.
Like I told the players (Monday) and a lot of the kids that I've had
been fortunate enough to coach, that I'll be there for them forever,
whatever they need I'm a phone call away,” said Fickiesen.
The South Central Athletic Department is accepting applications for
the job.
Published 2/28/23
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South
Central Has to Handle Pressure
South Central meets Danbury-Lakeside in a division IV sectional
semifinal on Wednesday night at Shelby High School.
The Trojans (9-13) hammered New London (76-31) in a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says he feels like they have gotten a second wind.
“I mean obviously we're disappointed with the outcome of a few
games here and there, but overall the kids have been tough and been
resilient. I feel like our
energy right now is starting to come back a little bit and for everybody
it's kind of a fresh start, so the kids are excited and ready to go,” he
said.
Danbury-Lakeside (12-10) lost (55-28) to Tiffin Calvert in a Sandusky
Bay Conference River Division game last Friday.
Seidel says you always know what to expect from a Keith Diebler
coached team. “Well, Diebler
does a great job doing his thing. They
play their style and they don't change that.
They're going to be up tempo, they're going to be really good in
transition, you're going to see traps all over the floor in the full and the
half and they're going to be really good on the offensive glass,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have got two really big kids
that are both really skilled and really talented and we don't have size to
negate that, so we're going to have to guard them collectively.”
Seidel says it’s hard to beat the Lakers when they are playing
their kind of game. “They're
trying to dictate tempo the entire game and we have to do our best to try to
control tempo. I'm not saying
that we're opposed to playing up and down, but obviously that's their style.
When you play their style, it's
going to probably be in favor of them. So,
we're going to try our best to slow the game down, use as many fakes as we
can to try and play with poise and pivots and hopefully we can get some easy
baskets,” said Seidel.
Published 2/22/23
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South
Central Trying to Get Better
South Central, a loser of its last seven games, will entertain New
London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says their play in recent weeks has dropped off
significantly and he takes the blame for that trend.
“We see stretches and glimpses of basketball plays being made that
are winning plays. I take full
responsibility. I have spent too
much time on opponents and not enough time watching ourselves and now that
I've started watching ourselves I do notice a significant drop-off here of
late,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I think that
early on. seven or eight games there, we played pretty good defense and we
played very hard. Now that I'm
looking at film and comparing it I don't feel like we're playing very hard
anymore and I take full responsibility for that.”
Seidel says he has talked to the kids about confidence.
He says the has to come form the players.
“We talked to them about this that confidence doesn't come from me.
It's something that you believe inside of you and it comes from
preparation. So, you've got to
do your best to prepare mentally and physically each day in practice and
build on your own confidence because like I said I can't really you know
infuse confidence in you,” he said.
South Central (8-13,5-8) plays at home against New London (2-19,0-13)
on Friday night. The Trojans won
the first meeting (61-32) on January 6.
Seidel says New London will show them some different things than they
saw in that first game. “I see
they're doing some different things, trying to do some different things.
They still are trying to do the high, low stuff with (Conner) Byrd
and they have a really good shooter on the outside in (Garrett) Carruthers,
but they're trying to do a little bit more ball control, trying to control
tempo a little bit and like everybody's trying to get ready for the
tournament,” said Seidel.
Published 2/15/23
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South
Central Trying to Fix Things
South Central is looking for answers as they host Monroeville in a
Firelands Conference game on Thursday night and then travel to Bellevue of
the “SBC” Lake on Saturday night.
The Trojans (8-11,5-7) have lost their last five.
Coach Brett Seidel says they have some issues they are to work
through. “I mean it's a
combination of things. I think
our schedule has been fairly competitive.
I think that we miss a few free throws here and there that if we make
those free throws, we're shooting 30 some percent on some of those games, I
think if those free throws go in and we win a few of those games by a few
possessions the confidence is a little different.
Alongside that people are doing a really good job on Isaac (Blair)
and obviously he's a big piece,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
afternoon, “All of those things combined right now we are just trying to
figure out what's our next play, what's our next move, and what's the next
game and trying to take it one day at a time and get better.”
Monroeville (11-8,7-5) comes to South Central for a conference game
Thursday night. They lost a
tough one in overtime to Western Reserve (59-57) last Friday in league play.
They beat Port Clinton (55-53) in a non-conference game on Saturday.
Seidel describes them as big and physical and he says they are an
excellent team. “I mean
they've played Crestview to three at their place and five at home.
They've lost a lot of games that are really within one or two
possessions. If you look at
their schedule they've played a very difficult schedule, a lot of teams that
have winning records on that schedule. They
play really good basketball and they're big across the board at every
position. They're long and
athletic and physical, so they're a problem.
Western shot the ball really, really well from three, I think they
made 11 or 12 threes the other night. Then
they turned around and answered and sometimes you lick your wounds and they
didn't, they turn around answered and beat Port Clinton.
So, yeah we will have our hands full,” said Seidel.
Seidel says they have to continue to work hard.
“We don't have time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves.
I was talking to the kids it's been awhile since South Central lost
five games in a row and it's happened twice this year.
So, we don't have time to sit around and think about that and worry
about the past. It doesn't get
any easier so we can't sit around feel sorry for ourselves with Monroeville
and Bellevue this week and then the tournament follows.
We've got to get going, we got to keep going in the forward direction
and not think backwards,” he said.
Published 2/09/23
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South
Central Must Have Consistency
South Central is back in action this weekend as they travel to
Norwalk St. Paul for a Firelands Conference game on Friday and then they are
home for Edison in a non-conference play on Saturday night.
Last Friday, they lost (46-43) to rival Western Reserve in an
“FC” game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they got into a lot of foul trouble and they
got beat up again on the offensive glass.
“I think our effort was good. Our
execution wasn't great. I think
that we did a little bit over thinking on it, tried to overprepare, so
that's a little bit on me, so I thought my kids didn't play with confidence
like normally,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Credit
Chris’s kids they made a lot of plays and they killed us on the offensive
glass with 16 offensive rebounds and that was the main damage, but also we
had some key contributors and in serious foul trouble as did Chris. It was a
hard fought game, it really hasn’t changed the battles between us, but
they were fortunate to come out on top.”
South Central (8-9,5-6) plays at Norwalk St. Paul (7-8,5-5) on Friday
night. The Flyers are in a four
game losing skid, including a (61-48) loss to Mapleton last Friday in
conference play. That streak
began with a (49-46) loss to South Central on January17.
Seidel says both teams are trying to find the right combinations.
“I think we're both still trying to find our way and trying to find
consistency. I feel like both of
us are kind of streaky, up and down, we have good times and bad times and
we're just trying to find that consistency within our roster, our personnel
and in our play,” he said.
With teams that have talent, Seidel says consistency is often the
issue. “Having something done
the right way once is an accomplishment, but having it done right every time
is the process that we're working on. We
don't have that result yet, so we're trying to stay in tune to the process,
just trying to get better each day and hopefully because of that consistency
comes,” said Seidel.
Published 2/01/23
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South
Central Looking For Other Options
South Central plays at home against longtime rival Western Reserve in
a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Both teams are fighting for position when it comes to postseason
seeding, South Central in division IV and Western in division III.
Last week, South Central lost a conference game (66-46) to unbeaten
Crestview, the conference leader.
Coach Brett Seidel says they got beat up on the boards.
“They're undefeated for good reason. I
feel like they've improved tremendously since beginning of season. I
saw them live early in the season and I feel like they really improved
individually and definitely collectively on the defensive end. They
are sharing the ball really well and they're just relentless on the “O”
glass and they really got us there. I
think we gave up 18 to 20 offensive rebounds and sometimes we were in
position even and still could not grab the ball.
So, credit coach (John) Kurtz and the way they're playing right
now,” said Seidel.
South Central (8-7,5-5) hosts Western Reserve (8-7,5-5) on Friday
night. The Riders are coming off
two wins this past weekend in beating Norwalk St. Paul (70-63) in a
conference game on Friday and Edison (51-45) in a non-league game on
Saturday.
Seidel believes they are going to try to take away the Trojans
leading scorer Isaac Blair. “Obviously
they're going to be well coached and well prepared.
They've gotten better throughout the year as most Chris Sheldon
coached teams do. I know that
the first time around at their place we saw some different defenses from
them in a box and one and anything to probably negate Isaac from getting the
ball or getting the ball to the rim,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
afternoon, “So, I'm guessing that's what we're going to see.
It's going to be fun, I always enjoy the battles with Western.”
South Central is not deep this year and they have been getting the
majority of their scoring from Blair and Brandon Mitchell.
Seidel says they are going to have to have others step up.
“I mean most people have been trying to take (Blair) away and do
the best to keep it out of his hands and when he does have it trying to make
things tough for him. Just
trying to find those options outside of him to have some confidence in
themselves and hopefully some of those kids step up on Friday night,” he
said.
Published 1/25/23
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South
Central With Two Tough Ones
South Central hosts Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game
on Tuesday night and they travel to unbeaten Crestview, the conference
leader, on Friday night.
The Trojans have won four straight after two conference wins over
Mapleton (54-45) on Thursday and Plymouth (49-45) on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are doing some good things, but they
still have to get a lot better. “There
are some positives. We are still
trying to clean up some stuff, especially offensively trying to build
confidence. I thought we
rebounded the ball well enough in both those games.
I think that was the difference Saturday night against Plymouth.
We didn't shoot the ball particularly well actually, we were 11 for
25 from the line, but I thought we made enough rebounding plays at both ends
of the floor that allowed us to come away with the win,” said Seidel.
South Central is not very big and Seidel says they have to work very
hard to get rebounds. “I
thought our kids scrapped really well against one obviously the biggest team
probably in our league with Plymouth being big at every position and some
big interior guys, but I thought our kids scrapped really well and pulled
down some in traffic rebounds for us,” he said.
South Central (7-6,4-4) plays at home against Norwalk St. Paul
(7-4,5-2) on Tuesday night. The
Flyers are in second place in the conference standings, two games behind
Crestview. They had a game with
the Cougars postponed last week. They
beat New London (52-30) on Saturday night.
Seidel says they athletic and have a lot of kids that can play.
“They are a very well balanced team, very deep team, long,
athletic, play very hard. Coach
(Steve) Minor does a really nice job. The
(Korey) Frazee kid can fill it from anywhere and so can the (Michael) Kirk
kid. They have got two
left-handed bigs that are pretty good. So,
there's a reason why they're having a good year and we'll have our hands
full,” he said.
Crestview (12-0,7-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball
coaches poll in the small school division, beat South Central (63-50) in the
first meeting on December 10.
Seidel says they understand what they are up against.
“I talked to coach (John) Kurtz last year. I
remember him having what he had coming back and he actually even had a
couple more come back that weren't able to play because of football,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “ Just real deep, real
athletic, real long and really skilled team, who play really hard. They
have bought into to coach Kurtz’s system and having a heck of a year.
Obviously, it goes without saying we are the underdogs on Friday
night. That doesn't mean that
we're going to give in, but we know that the challenges ahead of us.”
Published 1/17/23
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South
Central Must Guard
South Central hopes to continue to build momentum as they play host
to Mapleton on Thursday and Plymouth on Saturday in pair of Firelands
Conference games.
After beating New London (61-32) in a conference game last Friday,
the Trojans made it two wins on the weekend with a (52-44) win at Mansfield
Christian Saturday night in non-league play.
Coach Brett Seidel was happy with the way they played on defense.
“I think the kids are starting to get acquainted with what we're
trying to do. We didn't shoot
the ball particularly well at Mansfield Christian.
Some of that's a testament to them and some of that was third end of
the week, so legs were little sore,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “Sometimes when the ball doesn't go in the hoop you
have to be able to guard and I thought that the kids paid attention to
details and guarded pretty well.”
South Central (5-6,2-4) entertains Mapleton (5-5,4-3) on Thursday
night. The Mounties won the
first matchup between the teams (72-62) on December 1.
After winning four of their first five, Mapleton has slumped over the
last couple of weeks.
Seidel says they have a lot of guys that can score.
“I think it's just like anybody else in our league outside of
Crestview. We've all kind of
been up and down, kind of been inconsistent on both ends of the floor.
They definitely have the pieces.
The (Jedidiah) Brannon kid and the (Ryan) Hickey kid, they have kids
like (Jordan) Davidson can fill it. They
can shoot it from deep and then the Brannon kid in the middle.
They're very dangerous team at the offensive end,” said Seidel.
In the first meeting of year with Plymouth it was (64-26) Trojans
back on December 9. Their
largest margin of victory this season.
Seidel says they will be at a size disadvantage.
“I know they're huge, that's what I see on film. Like
again, like I said the rest of us were just kind of up and down and
inconsistent. I feel that's the
same way with them. They're just
trying to find that consistency by the time February comes,” he says.
Published 1/12/23
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South
Central Working on Things
South Central returns to Firelands Conference action on Friday night
as they visit New London to meet the Wildcats.
They play at Mansfield Christian in a non-league game on Saturday
night.
On Tuesday night, the Trojans competed early, but lost (64-47) to
Margaretta in a non-conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says the Polar Bears pressure and their lack of
depth helped lead to the loss. “I
thought my kids came out ready to play.
We were up four at the end of one and down four at the half.
They just kind of wore us out in the second half.
Their transition got the best of us and turned us over a few times
for layups. Our kids I thought
fought to the end and we just kind of ran out of gas and ran out of our
bodies,” said Seidel.
Seidel only took the reins a couple of weeks ago after some upheaval
at South Central. He says right
now practice is very important for the Trojans so they can understand what
they are supposed to do. “We
are trying to adjust on the fly. I
mean credit Margaretta and coach Keller. They're
a really talented team. They are
skilled one through whatever they put on the floor.
They shot it really well and they played really physical defense, so
credit them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Yeah,
practices are right now at a premium for us and we're trying to get things
in and installed and then trying to repeat it to where it becomes part of
who we are.”
South Central
(3-6,1-4) plays at New London (1-8,0-5) on Friday night in a league game.
The Cats won their first game of the season on Tuesday night when
they crushed Mansfield Temple Christian (66-23) in a non-conference game.
Seidel says with
New London coming off the win Tuesday night that is going to make them a
more confident group on Friday night. “I
mean obviously a win, and a convincing win the way they won (Tuesday) night,
is always good medicine. Obviously,
they have some length, good size in the middle and with 6’7” and then
they have a really good low post. Then
the guard Carruthers is really good. They
play really hard no matter what the score is, so I know that they're going
to be ready to compete,” said Seidel.
Published 1/05/23
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Seidel
Back at South Central
It’s back to the old regime at South Central as former coach Brett
Seidel with be the head coach for the remainder of this season.
He will be assisted by Pat Durham.
Seidel takes over from Cory Durbin, who resigned last week.
They play at Monroeville on Thursday night in a Firelands Conference
game.
Brett says they have been trying to reinstall a lot of the stuff they
did last year. “I saw them
live once against Crestview and I've seen him on film just since stepping in
I've watched some films I hadn't up until that point watched any film on
them. It makes me realize how
much coaches do because I was trying to do what I did in October and
November in three days thinking that we were playing Friday against St.
Paul. So, kudos to all those
coaches out there that do this job because it's a lot and it made me reflect
on the coaching fraternity that's out there and how each coach has each
other's back and understands exactly what they're going through,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “As far as the kids are concerned
just trying to pick up where we left off a year ago and trying to do the
only things that I know how to do, which I've stole from the good ones and
the great ones like Joe Balogh and Chris Sheldon and all of the good coaches
around this area that I stole from.”
Because he had been head coach for more than a decade, he knows the
kids and Seidel says that helps a little bit.
“I the upper classmen, there's only a few with Hagen (Adams) and
Karl (Ferber) out, but they still are here so it's good to just be around
them. It's good to see them
daily. The younger kids beyond
Isaac (Blair) and (Brandon) Mitchell were all JV or younger, so I don't have
a direct relationship with them, but I have been around them and then around
me, so some most of them, other than the freshman class, know what to expect
and what about,” he said.
South Central (3-4,1-3) is at Monroeville (4-4,3-2) on Thursday
night. The Eagles are coming off
a (50-39) win over Western Reserve last week.
Seidel says the Eagles have some veterans that can play.
“Well, they have two four year lettermen in (Isaac) Clingman and
(Aidan) Goodwin and they are really good, those two pieces are both
averaging in the upper teens a piece. They
both can make plays, they both can make tough shots, which makes them
difficult to guard even sometimes when you are there to guard them, they
still make the shot anyway. They
have some really nice pieces around them that are long, physical and
athletic that present problems as well,” said Seidel.
Published 12/28/22
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Offensive
Execution a Priority for South Central
South Central faces a tough double weekend for the second week in a
row.
They are at Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday
and host Mid-Buckeye Conference leader Lucas on Saturday night.
On Saturday night, they were beaten by conference co-leader Crestview
(63-50) at home.
Coach Cory Durbin says they just got behind too much early in the
game and that cost them. “Saturday
night, it looked like we had four or five guys that have never played
varsity before when it comes to just in the first half I think they were a
little bit starstruck. Second
half was dead even, but Crestview did their damage there in the second
quarter. I just think some of
our younger guys it was the biggest crowd they've ever played in front of
and Crestview is really good they've got size across the board at every
position and I think some of our younger guys just they were a little
starstruck at first and then once the game kind of wore on there they
settled in very nicely,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon,
“We had a great second half, but again it's just so hard to recover from a
first half deficit against the team like that because Crestview just wears
you down so much defensively. I
did think we missed some open looks early on too that really we could have
been out to a lead in the first quarter and just missed some point blank
buckets right at the rim and you know we just couldn't recover but Crestview
is a great team they're as good as advertised for sure.”
South Central (3-2,1-2) plays at Western Reserve (2-4,1-2) on Friday
night. The Riders also lost two
conference games last weekend. Crestview
beat them (59-45) on Friday and Norwalk St. Paul edged them (45-41) on
Saturday.
Durbin says Western is big and they are going to be well coached.
“They're going be tough, I mean anytime you're coached by a guy
named Sheldon you're going be a good team even if it is for what they would
probably consider a rebuild year is still going to be a great year for them
by most people’s standards. So,
(Chris) Buchanan is really good athlete, good player, he's versatile, he's
6’3” and can go into post but he can also step out and hit threes.
We certainly have to do our best to limit him and they've got size
they really do in their starting lineup.
They've got some big kids across the board there.
Their point guard is 6’2”. The
way I see it and the way I've been telling my kids it's almost like Western
Reserve starts four posts and then a point guard.
So, they've got tons of size over there too and that's just something
we're going have to deal with of course,” said Durbin.
Lucas (4-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches
poll in the small school division, comes calling on Saturday night.
They beat Galion, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, (74-59) on
Tuesday night.
Durbin says the Cubs play excellent defense.
“They might be team defensively wise definitely top two or three on
our schedule, so it's going to be a good test for our guys offensively on
Saturday night. We've been
watching some film on them and Lucas is just one of those teams where you
know it doesn't feel like they're wearing you down and then you look up and
they could be up by 12 and you don't know how it happened. I
mean they just kind of are that way and it starts with them on the defensive
end of the floor. So, we've got
to take care of the ball. We get
them at home so hopefully we'll be comfortable shooting the ball, which
everybody's better at home, so hopefully we can take advantage of that,”
he said.
Published 12/15/22
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South
Central Has to be More Physical
It’s back to back conference games for most schools in the
Firelands Conference this weekend, including South Central, who plays at
Plymouth on Friday and at home against Crestview on Saturday night.
They are coming off their first loss of the season, (72-62) to
Mapleton in their conference opener last Thursday.
Coach Cory Durbin says they have to play tougher and admits he could
have put the kids in a better position.
“Mapleton, they were who we thought they were going to be going
into that game, and they put up some points on us.
That night we just kind of lacked some toughness.
There were a lot of things that I could have done differently. We
will be ready for them the next time that we play them.
That’s the best thing about it, we get the again and at our place
next time. I have to do better
to put our kids in a better position to win,” said Durbin.
South Central (2-1,0-1) is at Plymouth (0-3,0-1) on Friday night.
The Big Red fell (53-51) to Western Reserve in their first conference
game last Thursday.
Durbin says it is Plymouth’s physicalness that comes to the top of
the scouting report. “Every
time it seems like I am just a broken record, but the theme in the Firelands
Conference is teams are tough. By
tough I mean they are physically tough and Plymouth is definitely no
exception. Coach “Pick” he
has them playing hard. Two of
their games they have lost by a combined three points. They
are tough at home,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They
are going to play physically tough and we just have to be ready for that.
We watched a little film on them (Tuesday).
So, we are getting ready for them.
They are just going to be physically tough and we have to overcome
that.”
Crestview (3-0,1-0) is coming off a (65-36) blasting of Crestline in
a non-league game on Tuesday night. The
Cougars also beat Norwalk St. Paul (69-39) in their conference opener last
week.
Durbin says the Cougars do a lot of things they have to prepare for.
“They are long and they are also physical and they definitely have
some size. That is going to be
another tough one. There are
just no breaks in the Firelands Conference.
Everybody is just so physically tough and we have to bring that to
every single game and we have to match that.
Crestview with their great football season got a little bit of a late
start to the basketball season. So,
it has been a little difficult to catch up on them,” he said.
Published 12/07/22
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South
Central Plays Fast Paced Mapleton
South Central gets its first taste of action in the Firelands
Conference on Thursday night as travel to Mapleton to take on the Mounties.
On Tuesday night, the Trojans (2-0) outlasted Buckeye Central (63-58)
in a non-conference game.
Coach Cory Durbin says they were unselfish and shot the ball well.
“Man, Buckeye Central is tough.
They are a tough team. We
knew they were going to be good. We
were ready for them. Something
that stood out to me (Tuesday) night was we made 22 field goals on the night
and 16 of them were assisted. So,
we shared the ball really well. We
got hot in the fourth quarter. We
scored 27 in the fourth quarter. Everybody
was stepping up and hitting shots. The
scoring was actually very balanced,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “I think we had four guys in double figures.
It was a lot of fun to see and with such a young team it was great
the see them just play freely in a close game at home in front of their
friends. There was a big crowd.
It was a big growing moment. It
is always fun to have those learning moments and also pull the win out.”
Durbin says they want to step on the floor believing they can win.
“Winning is ultimately the best thing you can do to grow
confidence, it is as simple as that. In
some ways it kind of sound cliché, it kind of sounds stupid, but I have
always said that in order to develop a winning culture sometimes you just
have to win. That is where it
starts, you get used to winning by winning,” he said.
Mapleton (0-1) lost to Black River (92-89) in triple overtime on
Saturday night in their first game.
Durbin says there is no question this team can score.
He says they have multiple shooters.
“Mapleton, they can get up and down the floor and score quite a
bit. We also scrimmaged Black
River in the preseason and I had a feeling that game was going to be pretty
high scoring. I didn’t think
it was going to get that high. That
was an incredible game. We have
watched that film a few times now. Trying
to stop Mapleton is going to be easier said than done.
They are the dark horse in my opinion in our conference this year.
They are very good, very talented team that all shoot the ball.
They play a hundred miles an hour.
To be honest, they are fun to watch.
I like what they do,” said Durbin.
Published 12/01/22
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South
Central Must Avoid Turnovers
South Central plays its first game on Friday night at Mansfield St.
Peter’s against the Spartans in non-conference play.
First year coach Cory Durbin feels it is important that they try and
do their stuff and do it well. “I
think in season openers you just have to do what you do and worry about
yourself and run your stuff well. Of
course, we have goals for Friday night and we want to make St. Pete’s do
certain things. Those season
openers are about what you do well and just trying to establish your
identity. We have to start the
season off on the right foot,” he said.
St. Peter’s is a team that going to try and pressure the ball quite
bit in an attempt to create turnovers, according to Durbin.
“We did manage to get a little bit of film from one of their
scrimmages. They are very, very
active defensively, so we cannot be loose with the ball.
Feree Kent has been a great player, had a great season last year.
He is their star and we have to make sure we shut him down.
Like I said, we just have to make sure we do what we want to do.
We have to run our offense the right way and be patient.
We just have to relax,” said Durbin.
Against the Spartans ballhandling is going to be a premium.
Durbin says St. Peter’s is going to try and get offense from
defense and they can’t let that happen.
“I do feel like they have done a good job this year.
I think that is going to be their defensive identity this year.
They do have a little bit of length and they are just so active on
the ball with pressure, so we can’t be loose with the ball,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “If things break down and they
disrupt the first option of one of our sets or something just stick with it
we are going to be fine. Just
keep running the offense and trust what you know.
With a young team like what we have got that is going to be key.
Just be patient everything will be fine and just keep playing.”
Published 11/24/22
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South
Central Getting Better Fast
South Central has faced a lot of adversity already this season,
mostly due to injuries, but they handling that pretty well heading into game
week next week when they open the season the day after Thanksgiving.
Cory Durbin is their new coach. He
says they will be young, but he likes the improvement he is seeing.
“I love these kids. They
are hard working kids raised really well by their families.
They are easy to get along with.
Love being in the locker room with them.
We are dealing with a couple of injuries with some of our older guys.
We have a little bit of a younger team that I think most people expected at
this point. We are getting
through those growing pains quickly and I really like the progress we have
seen for sure,” said Durbin.
They scrimmaged Willard and Galion on Tuesday and Durbin says the
scrimmages they have had have been important tools.
“I think some of the growing pains I am talking about is because
they haven’t seen the speed of varsity basketball, that’s the main
thing. You know what, they are
adapting very quicky. When you
have got guys on the floor like Isaac Blair and Brandon Mitchell and some of
these older guys that have been around for a long time,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They are so quick and athletic that
the young guys grow up even faster in practice.
Certainly, the scrimmages have been huge.
We have been watching a lot of film already of some of our
scrimmages. They are adapting
really quickly actually, I have been impressed.”
South Central opens the season on November 25 at Mansfield St.
Peter’s. Their first Firelands
Conference game will be December 2 at Mapleton.
Durbin says better defense it the key for their improvement between
now and then. “The age gap
there. Some of these guys that
are going to be playing a lot of minutes for us this year haven’t played
varsity minutes. Going back to
that varsity speed. Defensively,
just doing a better job helping each other out and guarding on the ball
better. Part of that is just an
adjustment. I think we have good
athletes, they simply aren’t used to the varsity level yet.
Like I said, it is coming along pretty quickly.
We have seen a lot of little things on film and we have really worked
hard to fix those things and we have looked better and better every
scrimmage. It has been very
encouraging,” he said.
Published 11/18/22
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South
Central Faces Run Heavy Southern
South Central plays a first round playoff game in division VII on
Friday night on the road at Salineville Southern.
The Trojans confirmed their berth in the playoffs with a (36-8)
whipping of Plymouth in Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were far from perfect, but they were
pretty good against the Big Red. “We
played pretty well. We were
happy with the majority of the things outside of we turned the ball over
inside the 10 two or three times and we felt we should have scored.
We had nearly 540 yards of offense and we held them in check
defensively and special teams was pretty clean,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Wednesday evening, “So, overall that is how you want to end the year,
that is how you want to play on a senior night.
Obviously, going into the postseason, you want to be at your best and
we are hoping we are getting closer to that.”
South Central (4-6) plays at Southern (9-1) on Friday night.
The Indians are coming off a (14-0) shutout of Hanoverton United last
Friday.
Fickiesen says they are team that has some tendencies toward a lot of
things they have seen this year. “It
is hard to tell with a team that is so far away.
It is going to be about a two and half hour drive for us over there.
They are very Firelands Conference like though.
They run the wing-T and they have some athletes that are pretty
quick. So, we have kind of been
comparing them to a mix of a Mapleton and a Western.
A little bit of all of the conference teams.
They have little piece of all of them.
So, we feel our schedule has prepared us to get to here,” said
Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says the Indians are an experienced unit and they will need
to be at the top of their game to have a chance.
“Anytime you get in the playoffs, you are going to be playing
someone at least decent and they are a really good football team.
They are 9-1 for a reason. They
have been here the last couple of years, so they are experienced as well.
We are going to have to play well and we know that, but when you get
to the postseason that is what you are expecting anyway,” he said.
Published 10/27/22
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South
Central Focused on Plymouth
South Central hosts rival Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game
Friday night on the final week of the regular season.
They were throttled (42-12) by Western Reserve in a conference game
last Friday, as Logan Wiegel ran for 180 yards, including a 90 yard TD run
for the Riders.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says again for them too many mistakes.
“There were too many mistakes against a good team.
They are going to capitalize on that.
On almost every drive we were in their territory and got into the red
zone multiple times and just couldn’t capitalize.
We had some fumbles and some different things,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “Again, when you make those mistakes
against a good team, it is usually not going to end well.
Having guys out and having guys fill in, I was proud of some of the
guys that had to step up and play that don’t usually get to.
They just have to continue to get better as we get ready for this
week.”
The Trojans (3-6,1-4) play at home against Plymouth (3-6,1-4) on
Friday night. The Big Red lost
(55-7) to McComb in a conference game last week.
Fickiesen says they are doing a lot of things on offense that they
have to be ready for. “That is
one of those offenses that is not easy to replicate in practice.
You don’t see it too often. This
year they have really mixed it up a little bit too.
They are spreading it out some along with their “football in a
phone both” kind of thing, so you have to prepare for a lot of different
things, which makes it difficult. For
us it comes down to consistency, like I have been talking about.
We just have to come out ready to play and play as hard as well
can,” said Fickiesen.
Right now, South Central is in the are 14th in division
VII, region 25, the top 16 make the postseason.
Now, Fickiesen figures they are in, but a win certainly gets them a
better seed. “Well according
to Drew Pasteur, who is the guru for all playoffs, says we are in
regardless, but with a win you could bump yourself up a little bit.
Obviously, that is important, the playoffs and all of that, but we
have to focus in this week. It
is our senior night, it is the last home game for those guys, so it is
important for us to go out and play really well.
We will kind of focus on the playoffs Friday night after the game,
but this week we are locked in on Plymouth and only Plymouth,” he said.
Published 10/17/22
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Consistency
Still an Issue for Trojans
South
Central, trying to maintain position in the division VII playoffs, plays at
Western Reserve against the Roughriders on Friday night in Firelands
Conference play.
Right now, the Trojans stand in 13th place in division
VII, region 25, in the computer point standings.
The top 16 in each division qualify.
They started well least week, but fell to Mapleton (46-27) in
conference play.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they kept fighting.
“We came out and we scored on the second play.
We stopped them and they had a third and long and they completed kind
of scramble out of the pocket, over the top kind of pass and went down and
scored. We went back and forth
there. We lost a couple of kids
to injury that weren’t able to finish the game that kind of limited us a
little bit. Our kids kept
fighting. That is all you can do
at this point and just get ready for this week,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (3-5,1-3) is at Western Reserve (4-4,3-2) on Friday
night. The Riders hammered
Monroeville (40-14) last week in “FC” action.
Fickiesen says this is another physical team they are facing.
“They are similar to most of the other conference teams.
They are big and physical and like to run the ball, but the thing is
Rhett Grose at quarterback throws the ball really well too.
The (Logan) Wiegel kid at running back is a really good, physical
back. They are big up front,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They are the typical
Western team. So, you are going
to have to be able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the
ball. You are going to have to
come ready to play for four quarters.”
Fickiesen says they must more consistently play defense and most
importantly stop the run. “That’s
the Firelands Conference is general. We
haven’t been able to stop it that well consistently.
That is what we talked to the kids about.
We will go a couple of possessions here and there where we play
really well defensively. The
thing about being a good team versus a really good team is consistency and
we just haven’t had that. So,
that is what we are going to have to have (Friday) in order to go over there
and beat a good team,” he said.
Published 10/14/22
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South
Central Has Not Been Consistent
South Central is looking to make a push for the playoffs as they host
Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, they fell (37-7) to Crestview, #2 in the Swaknonsports.com
football coaches poll in the small school division, the co-leader in the
conference, on Friday night.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they did do some things they can build on.
“We opened the game like we wanted to.
We had some kids make some nice plays.
Really on that next possession we thought our defense played fairly
well. We gave them a touchdown
on third down. It was probably a
12 to 14 play drive. We saw some
good things last week against a really, really good team.
The problem with us is we had turnovers and we missed out on some
assignments. I have said this
multiple times because we have played a good schedule, when you do that
against good teams, they are going to expose it and that is exactly what
they did,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We had a pick 6 late,
we had a safety late, that turned it into a running clock.
We saw some things last week that were bright spots, that hey we can
be good, but just like we told the kids (Monday) when you are playing really
good teams, you have to be consistent. We
weren’t consistent and we haven’t been consistent enough to beat those
good teams this year. At the end
of the season and hopefully into the playoffs, that is what we are working
on.”
South Central (3-4,1-2) is at home for Mapleton (4-3,1-2) on Friday
night. The Mounties outscored
Plymouth (54-43) last week.
Fickiesen says they can be explosive on offense because they have
players. “They are very
athletic. The Kline kid at
quarterback gave us fits last year. They
have a couple of kids on the wings and and fullback that do a nice job in
space and then they are big up front. I
think we have said the same things every year since they switched to this
gun wing-T if your eye discipline isn’t good and you’re are not reading
your keys, which we haven’t done well over the last couple of years they
are going to put up points because they are athletic.
We really have to hone in on things this week and make sure that we
make them drive and not big plays. Then we make big plays when we have the
ball offensively. The last
couple of weeks, we feel we haven’t been as good offensively as we should
be. So, just some of those
things we have to clean up and we as we are getting later in the year.
This is kind of the stretch, these last three games, where we have to
clean stuff up and be consistent,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says these last three games are crucial for earning a
playoff berth, they are 12th right now, and it begins this week.
“We talked to the kids about it being week by week and focusing on
this week and that is what we are doing.
Our goals is to make the playoffs and try and get into that top
eight. If we are lucky enough to
win out, that is still in play. If
you don’t focus on Mapleton obviously you are not going to be able to do
that. The big thing in high
school football when you are dealing with kids is momentum.
Losing games is going to take it away and winning games is going to
give you some more. So, we just
have to focus in on this week. Go
out on a homecoming game and bring a little more energy and go get a win
against a really good opponent,” he said.
Published 10/04/22
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South
Central Excited to Play Unbeaten Crestview
South Central plays at unbeaten Firelands Conference co-leader
Crestview on Friday night in a conference game.
Last week, the Trojans got a late Brandon Mitchell to Hagen Adams TD
pass to beat Monroeville (28-21) in a conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they made a lot of mistakes, but in the
end, they did what they had to do to win.
“On our end it was a really sloppy game.
We scored two or three or maybe four touchdowns that got called back
by penalties. We had plus 200
yards I think in penalties. A
sloppy game, not very good on our part, but our kids battled and continued
to fight and pulled out a conference win on the road in a place that is
pretty hard to play with the tradition they have over there on their
homecoming. So, we were really
proud of the way our kids continued to battle and fight and pull that one
out,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (3-3,1-1) plays at Crestview (6-0,2-0), #2 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on
Friday. The Cougars downed Lucas
(31-6) in a non-conference game last week.
Fickiesen says the Cougars are everything they are billed to be.
“There have been a lot of people talking about them and how good
they think they can be this year and a lot of the stuff is true.
Coach (Steve) Haverdill has done a great job, they have a really good
program there from top to bottom and they have a lot of really nice
players,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They are just
very consistent in what they do. They
don’t make many mistakes. The
quarterback I think has only thrown one interception and it was like that
last year, the Kuhn kid. They
are the kind of team where they are just going to be themselves and wait
until you make a mistake and capitalize.”
Fickiesen says they have to play a very good football game and let
the chips fall where they may. “They
are good across the board. We
are just going to have to come out and play really good football and not
make mistakes. Special teams and
some of those things are really magnified in these kids of games.
So, we are going to put a game plan together.
Our kids are excited about another week of football.
We keep playing. We are
going to go out on Friday night and give it everything we have got,” he
said.
Published 9/27/22
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South
Central Needs Right Mental Focus
South Central returns to play in the Firelands Conference this week
as they are on the road at Monroeville against the Eagles.
Last week, the Trojans beat Dayton Christian (41-9) in a
non-conference game played at Worthington Christian.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says it was a poor start to the game last
Saturday, but they were much better in the second half.
“We felt like we didn’t play that well in the first half
honestly. It was 14-9 going into
the break. We only touched the
ball three times. We just
didn’t play that well. It is
one of those games where you really don’t know the opponent that well, you
are playing on a neutral field, a longer bus ready, a lot of those factors.
You can call them excuses, which we just can’t have,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We just didn’t play that well
in the first half, but we got things together at halftime and made a couple
of adjustments and our guys came out and we were pretty proud of the way our
guys played in the second half. So,
it was a good for us. We needed
to get a little confidence back leading into this week.”
South Central (2-3,0-1) plays at Monroeville (0-5,0-2) on Friday
night. The Eagles were roughed
up by unbeaten Crestview (48-8) last week.
Fickiesen says they have to be ready to play because Monroeville has
some young guys that can play. “It
is the same thing that probably most of the coaches in the Firelands
Conference are saying, you can throw out the records.
It comes down to night in and night our you have to be ready to play.
They are playing a lot of younger kids, a lot of sophomores and a lot
of those kids we have been pretty impressed with.
The Benford kid at quarterback is a really nice player, he is quick.
The (Landon) Roeder kid, the running back, who played a lot of
defense last year is a really good running back and then they are good up
front. So, they present some
challenges that if you don’t come ready to play, they are going to make
you pay,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says they must be very fundamental on Friday night.
“We have been working on a lot of fundamental stuff this week like
we did last week. For our guys
it is more of a mentality. We
have to come out and we have to start fast.
We have to play well from the start and kind of carry that momentum
throughout the game. Those basic
things. You have to be able to
block, you have to be able to tackle well.
If we do those two things, we are going to be okay,” he said.
Published 9/22/22
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South
Central has to be Better
South Central takes a break from Firelands Conference play this week
as they play Dayton Christian in a non-conference that will be played
Saturday at Worthington Christian in the Columbus suburbs.
Last week, they were belted (54-20) by Norwalk St. Paul in conference
play.
They didn’t get off to a very good start and coach Corey Fickiesen
says they were unable to stop the Flyers from running the ball. “We
knew we were going to have to come out and start the game well to have some
confidence and we just did not do that.
Give all of the credit to St. Paul.
They came out like they usually do and just run the ball right at you
with everything they have got and we just weren’t able to stop it early.
We didn’t help ourselves out. We
didn’t play every well on special teams.
We gave up 21 points on special teams and we fumbled once on the goal
line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So, right there
is 28 points. If you do that
against any team, let alone a good team, you are probably not going to have
much success. Just those kinds
of the things we have to get cleaned up.
We still feel like we can be a good team.
We just have to clean stuff up. That
is what we are working on with the extra day the week since we don’t play
until Saturday.”
South Central (1-3) has shown they can play well at times, but
Fickiesen says they have to play that way all of the time.
“Potential doesn’t mean a whole lot if you don’t reach it.
We can’t just continue to say we can win, we have to continue to
work toward those things. We
have some younger guys that have played well when called up, so they are
going to continue to get more reps, which will give other guys breaks and
hopefully helps us out in the long run.
We have to take care of getting better at being us, period.
It comes down to the fundamentals, it comes down to special teams,
offensively and defensively. We
just have to keep getting better at being us and that is what we are focused
on this week,” he said.
Dayton Christian (2-2) beat New Miami (44-24) last week.
Fickiesen says the Warriors have some talent, but they must do a
better job getting their house in order.
“We played them last year, so it is not complete unfamiliarity, but
it is a lot different. They are
a spread team. They can throw it
around a little bit. They run
motion here and there. Last
year, they had some really good athletes and we didn’t play real well in
the first half against them to be honest.
Then we kind of turned it on the second half.
We talk about these kinds of games can hopefully set you up come
playoff time if we are able to make it.
Traveling somewhere new, playing at a neutral site, people that you
are not comfortable with, places that maybe you are not comfortable with.
Slipping out of the comfort zone and still being and to be confident
and play well. It doesn’t
really matter who we are going to play, we have to get better at being us
and we have to be ready to go show up,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/14/22
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South
Central Knows the Task
South Central begins the Firelands Conference portion of their
schedule on Friday night as they host the Norwalk St. Paul Flyers.
The
Trojans (1-2) lost last week (49-15) to Lowellville.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says it simple, they were not very good.
“It was not very good as the score would indicate.
We just did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic.
They got a couple of onside kids that really flipped the momentum.
There were just a lot of things.
We didn’t play well period. They
are a good team, so when you don’t play well, it’s probably not going to
end well. we have just been
telling our kids that if you look at our schedule, we have played 3-0, 3-0,
2-1 and Willard’s only loss was to us.
Even in our scrimmages, Margaretta is 3-0 and Buckeye Central is 3-0.
So, technically every team we have played so far is undefeated.
We just have to continue to keep working, put last week behind us
where it is and we have to move on and get ready for this one,” he said.
Norwalk St. Paul (1-2) picked up it’s first win of the season last
week (33-7) over Tiffin Calvert.
Fickiesen says when you face St. Paul you know what you are going to
get. “When John Livengood is
there you know what you are going to get.
They are going to be very well coached, very disciplined.
You know what they are going to run and they don’t care you know
what they are running. They are
going to run it right at you and say try and stop it.
So, it’s a big week for us. It
is the opener of the conference and it’s against a really good
opponent,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have
a couple of backs. Everybody
knows the (Quincey) Crabbs kid. He
is a phenomenal running back, but they have a couple of others that are
pretty good too. Ben Burger is a
really good player. He is really
quick. They do a really nice job
up front. Their tight ends can
get loose and beat you deep. Defensively,
they are really solid like they always are, keep everything in front.
It’s St. Paul, you better be ready to play from the kickoff to the
last buzzer. I think our kids
have had a really good week of practice.”
A big key for the Trojans will be the Trenches.
Fickiesen says they have to win up front.
“All summer and all preseason, that is what we talked to our guys
about, if we want to contend for a Firelands Conference championship you
have to win the line of scrimmage, you have to be able to stop the run.
We see it right here in our first week of conference play, you have
to win the line of scrimmage and you have to stop the run, period.
If you are not able to do those things they are just going to keep
doing it. Our kids have done a
really good job throughout the summer and the preseason of getting their
minds ready to do that. We have
had what we feel is pretty good week of practice this week and I think our
guys are excited to go play Friday,” he said.
Published 9/08/22
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South
Central Still Needs to Improve on Defense
South Central plays at home on Friday night against Lowellville, a
small school from the Youngstown area, in a non-league game.
Last week, they lost (28-20) to Northmor of the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they showed some improvement from a week
one win over Willard (44-43), but it wasn’t enough.
“We were up 13-0 and gave up a big pass play over the top.
I didn’t manage the clock really well right there before half.
We had four turnovers and any time you turn the ball over four times
against a really good football team it is going to be hard to beat them.
There were some things we thought we got a little bit better at and
some things we need to continue to clean up.
Make no mistake about it, Northmor is a good team and you have to
give them credit,” said Fickiesen.
Defense was a major focus for the Trojans in practice last week and
Fickiesen says that will continue to be the case.
“That was a big key for us. Seeing
that Willard put up all of the points that they did this week makes you feel
not as terrible about it. We
also know we have to continue to play really good defense, especially once
we get into our league play here in a couple of weeks,” he told
Swanknsports.com on Sunday night, “If you want to be really good, you have
to have a really good defense. So,
we are just continuing every day and every week to try and get better on
that side of the ball. We took
some strides, but there are still some things we need to fix.”
Lowellville (2-0) belted Campbell Memorial (50-14) last week.
Fickiesen says the Rockets have a high octane pass game they will
have to defend. “They are
averaging over 50 points a game. They
like to spread it out. Their
quarterback is a bigger kid, 6’3” and had over 2,000 yards passing last
year. They have a receiver that
is a really, really nice player that had over 1,000 yards receiving.
Those are the two main guys, but they have some other athletes that
are really good. They are in our
region, so it’s a good matchup from that standpoint to see where we
stand,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says that this a much different challenge than last week
and they are going to need to be at the top of their game.
“They are completely different from last week and we are going to
have to defend the pass really well this week.
We are going to have to play really well.
The good thing is they have to come to us, so we are hoping that home
field gives us a little bit of energy. It
is a playoff type of game that we get to host, so I am hoping we can come
back and our kids can work hard this week and recover from that loss and get
ready to play another big one,” he said.
Published 8/29/22
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South
Central Has to Tackle Better
South Central has its home opener Friday night at they host the
Northmor Golden Knights in a non-conference game.
They edged Willard last week (44-43) by scoring with 15 ticks left.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they must make improvement on defense.
“That first opening week you just never sure what to expect.
You can practice against yourself, you can go to scrimmages, but
nothing is like a real game until you are in a real game.
Obviously, offensively we did some things well and defensively we did
some things not as well. On the
flip side, in the second half we only gave up a touchdown, but we only
scored a touchdown. So, there
are a lot of things that we have picked through on that game on both sides
that we felt like were positives that we could talk to the kids about, but
there are also negatives that we need to get corrected.
We are hopeful that the good old saying that you see the most growth
between weeks one and two and I’m hoping we get that this week,” said
Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says he has seen steps in the right direction during
practice this week. “We are
getting there. Now, we started
school this week as well and that kind throws another wrench into things.
We are trying to get into better shape because we thought that was
one of the areas where we weren’t very good last week.
We didn’t tackle well enough and just some of those little
fundamentals and we need to continue to rep those and sharpen those things
and getter a little better each day. We
felt like we had two pretty decent practices and we are looking forward to
two more just to sure some things up so we are ready to go in our home
opener on Friday,” he said.
Northmor blasted Marion Elgin (45-0) in a non-conference game last
Friday. Holding the Comets to
only 100 total yards.
Fickiesen says this will be a much different challenge than last
week. “They are coming off a
really good year and they are still really good.
They are really solid up front and are really well coached.
You can tell that. Their
running back is the talk of the town and possibly the state later on in the
year in Max Lower. He is a big
kid that runs hard and really good athletically.
So, they present a lot of challenges,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday evening, “The difference for us is last week you had to stop the
pass and the script is kind of flipped.
They like to run the ball and they will counter it with some play
action. So, we are just tweaking
some things and trying to get better as us.
It’s a big challenge, but I think our guys are excited to come play
at home in front of a good crowd.”
Published 8/24/22
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South
Central Excited for First Test
South Central starts the season at Willard on Friday night in a
non-conference game between neighboring schools.
Trojans coach Corey Fickiesen says there are always some questions
going into week one. “We had
the preview game last week, but when you are in a preview game everyone
knows it is not really a game. It
is kind of like a scrimmage, but it feels like a game, so it’s just that
in between, that excitement and extra stuff is not involved.
We had some kids who played well, kids who made mistakes that we have
to clean up. So, you just really
never know to the lights officially get turned on on that first Friday and
everything counts how everyone is going to come out and play.
We are just fine tuning some stuff and making sure that we have got
guys where we want them and are doing things we need to do to be
successful,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says especially in small schools scrimmages are important
when it comes to evaluating your talent.
“In a small school like ours we don’t necessarily have what you
would call a two deep where you are playing against other varsity guys.
Usually, we are putting a scout team out there that is consisting of
freshmen and sophomore type kids hat just aren’t to that mature yet.
So, in a scrimmage you get to go against some other upperclassmen and
it feels a little more real. They
make you make more mistakes than you might in practice and that is a good
thing. Then you get to see what
you are not doing very well, so let’s take some practice time and fix that
so Friday night those minor things do not happen.
That is what we talked about this week and we are hoping we are
getting some of those things fixed,” he said.
Willard was (1-9) last year and the Trojans beat them (41-15) in the
opener last year.
Fickiesen says again Willard has talent.
“They are athletic. I
say this every year. They have
Isaac Robinson, Cam Robinson, both of those guys are very athletic.
The Weirs kid, the Parsons kid, the Hammans kid.
There are a bunch of them when we are watching them on film and they
have some pretty good athletes. Then
they are big up front. So, they
present some challenges for us,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We are
going to have to be very disciplined. All
of those things that you talk about each week, but it is kind of magnified
in week one because seen it yet, so you are not sure how a couple of your
guys are going to react when the lights are on and it’s crunch time.
We are excited though and our kids are ready to go and we are looking
forward to Friday night.”
Published 8/18/22
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South
Central Needs to Make Key Plays
South Central has some exciting playmakers on its football roster
this year, but they need to find a way to win by making the key plays.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they are working on putting together a
program that will work for them on both sides of the ball.
“Just like a lot of other people we obviously lost some key pieces
from last year, but we bring back some key pieces as well.
The install period that we had here (Monday) was pretty good for us.
A lot of our kids, especially our older kids know what is going on on
both sides of the ball, so we feel petty good about that,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It is just bringing in some of the
younger kids that have to fill in some of those rolls, bringing them along.
We are happy with where we are at.
There are still a lot of things we have to get done throughout this
week. It being day one we are
excited about the season being here and football being back in full go.”
South Central will scrimmage Margaretta on Saturday and Fickiesen
says they are excited to see what they can do.
“You can go to all of these seven on sevens and the different stuff
you do in the summer, but everyone knows that’s not real football.
Until later in the week when we put the pads on, it gets a little bit
closer and the lights start to turn on that’s when it becomes real and
that is what our kids are looking forward to the most.
We are excited about it,” he said.
The Trojans were (3-7) a year ago, losing to Firelands Conference foe
Norwalk St. Paul (48-21) in for the first round of the division VII
playoffs. The finished seventh
in the conference standings. They
lost only one conference game by more than two scores.
Fickiesen says they were right in the thick of those games, but this
year they need to make the big play when called upon.
“We have talked about a couple of things.
One is winning close football games.
Out of our 10 games, we felt in eight or nine of them we were right
there a play of two away from winning the football game, but we just
didn’t do that in a lot of them. That
comes down to a bunch of different plays throughout the game.
We have talked to our kids about when it gets close, when it gets
tight, we just have to be ready to buckle up and go play those snaps where
we weren’t ready last year. I
think some of our kids gained experience from that, so I’m hoping it
carries over,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/02/22
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Plymouth
Beats South Central for District Title
There aren’t many times when a coach addresses the opponent after a
tournament baseball game, but both coaches did that on Saturday amid the
controversy surrounding the division IV district final at Heise Park in
Galion.
The work by the umpires in the game seemed to be inconsistent at
best. The strike zone appeared to be a moving target.
There were a total of 16 walks in the game.
Plymouth beat South Central (6-5) and will advance to the division IV
regional tournament where they will face Antwerp at Patrick Henry High
School on Thursday afternoon.
Plymouth coach Jake Strayer says his players handled a difficult
situation. “They battled and
fought through a lot of adversity, a lot of stuff they couldn’t control
and they played hard. They are
16, 17, 18-year-old kids. A lot
of them were put in positions (Saturday) that they were never put in before
and they handled it. That is
something we talk about in the program is handle things the right way.
You don’t know how things are going to happen or why they are going
to happen. You have to make the
best decision you can with them and I am proud of how our guys handled
that,” said Strayer.
The Big Red score twice in the top of the second inning when Shae
Sparks belted an RBI triple and scored himself when the ball was thrown away
trying to get him at third.
South Central tied it (2-2) in the bottom of the second when Brandon
Mitchell and Aaron Hauler walked, Eric Sanders singled home Mitchell and
Hauler scored on a ground out by Isiah White.
The Trojans took a (3-2) lead in the of the third when Mitchell again
walked and scored on White’s double. They
added two more in the fourth on a couple of walks, three stolen bases a
sacrifice and an error and it was (5-2) Trojans after four.
After a scoreless fifth, things got interesting in the top of the
sixth. Trace McVey walked and
Cole Wentz followed with what was called a two run home run down the
leftfield line, although in the opinion of this reporter it appeared to be
foul by a good 20 feet. Third
base umpire Mark McCoy called it a home run and when asking home plate ump
Jeff Sutter, the call was confirmed. Galion
Police were called to the park to handle the unhappy crowd, but no physical
altercations took place.
That cut the South Central lead to (5-4), but the Big Red wasn’t
done. The next batter, Ethan
Gilliam walked and Carson Tucker followed with a single. Sparks
sacrificed and Clayton Miller singled home the tying run.
Following a strikeout and a walk, Zeth Goth’s single gave Plymouth
a (6-5) lead.
Miller, who had replaced Goth on the mound, in the fourth, retired
six of the last eight batters he faced to give the Big Red the win.
South Central coach Mike Perry says he feels the performance of the
umpires was inexcusable. “The
umpire tells my shortstop that he lost the ball in the sun, so he called it
a home run. Out there guessing
in a situation like that is inexcusable and it breaks my heart that I have a
bunch of seniors that are walking off a high school baseball field because a
guy didn’t see it, so he guessed. That
can not happen in a district championship game and it did and they are
dealing with that right now,” said Perry.
Perry says they are in no way blaming the Plymouth coaching staff or
players, but feels they were robbed. “We
are not mad at Plymouth. I even
told Plymouth, guys you just won a district championship, be happy, be loud,
we are good with that. I told
(our players) not a lot of teams win 20 games and their conference and we
were able to do that. We felt
like we were the better team. Honestly,
shooting from the hip, this game was taken away from us,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “I told them that there are lessons that
you are going to learn in this life and one of those lessons is not
everything is fair, not everything balances out.
Sometimes you are going to end up on the short end of it.
You learn from it and move on.”
South Central left eight men on base in the game and Plymouth coach
Strayer says he feels his team took advantage of their chances.
“They responded to the options that they had.
I said it on Wednesday night that all we need is a chance.
We gave ourselves a chance and I couldn’t be happier with them,”
said Strayer.
Miller was a star for Plymouth, not only does he get the game tying
hit, but he pitched four innings of one hit baseball for the Big Red.
“He comes in and throws strikes and he competes.
He does what we ask him to do. He
goes out there and he works quick and he works fast and he is efficient.
That’s what we needed and that is what he did for us,” said
Strayer.
The OHSAA has been concerned with the lack of umpires and that came
to a head on Saturday. The game
was originally scheduled for Friday and was not played due to wet field
conditions. A new group of
umpires had to be found for Saturday and there were more questionable calls
than normal in a game of this magnitude.
Published 5/29/22
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South
Central Moves onto the District Final
South Central pounded Hardin-Northern (10-0) in five innings in a
division IV district semifinal played Wednesday afternoon at Galion Heise
Park.
The Trojans (20-6), the Firelands Conference champion, will play
conference foe Plymouth for the district title on Friday evening back at
Heise Park.
Sophomore Eric Sanders got the ball from coach Mike Perry and he
turned in a terrific performance going all five innings and allowing only
three hits and two walks while striking out five Polar Bears.
Perry says he did exactly what he asked him to do.
“Eric will throw strikes. We
were thinking were we going to start Sam (Seidel) or start Eric and we went
with Eric because I want Sam’s glove out there defensively,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “Eric did exactly what we wanted him to
do, throw strikes and make them put the ball in play and let our defense do
its job and everybody did their job.”
Seidel is an All-Ohio shortstop headed to Bowling Green next year.
He and the Trojans played a clean game with no errors.
Perry says Sanders works well with catcher Kayden Hauler.
“You have a sophomore that is starting the biggest game he has ever
started in his high school career. Giving
him a few runs early kind of calmed him down.
He was going to attack anyway, that just the kind of kid he is.
He did a great job and he has a lot of trust in his catcher.
We let Kayden call the game and he does a great job with that in
keeping them in the moment,” said Perry.
South Central got going early in the game with a three spot in the
first when Seidel, the lead off hitter, walked and eventually scored on a
wild pitch. Karl Ferber, the
number one starter and expected to start against Plymouth, singled and later
scored on an Aaron Hauler hit. Another
run scored on a Polar Bear error.
They added another run in the third when Ferber walked and scored on
Sanders double up the left-centerfield ally.
Make it (4-0) Trojans.
Perry says he liked their approach at the plate.
“We have not been all year. It
started with the five conference games in five days and for some reason that
just got a lot better. We have
been feeding off of that. Their
kids didn’t throw as hard as we have seen, so we worked on staying back
and using the middle of the field. They
did a great job, great at bats,” said Perry.
Ferber put the hammer down in fourth when he greeted relief pitcher
Zach Spearman with a three run moonshot homer over the rightfield fence.
“When they made the pitching change, he came down, and I said, what
are you going to do if they hang that curveball and he said I’m going to
hit it 450. It wasn’t 450, but
he put a change into that one,” said Perry.
South Central added another in the fourth on Brandon Mitchell’s
hit. Mitchell then ended the
game in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single.
Plymouth beat Buckeye Central (8-6) in the second semifinal.
Friday’s district final will be a rubber match with the Trojans and
Big Red splitting their conference games.
Published 5/26/22
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South
Central Outright Champs
South Central claimed an outright Firelands Conference baseball title
after a (9-0), five inning, win over Monroeville on Wednesday evening
outside of Greenwich.
Coach Mike Perry says his kids came ready to claim the prize.
“All of the credit to the kids.
They came ready to play after the gauntlet that we ran last week.
They knew what the task was (Wednesday).
I had a couple of seniors that really stepped up.
Brock Hale, he has not played as much as he would have wanted, but he
ripped a double down the line. Isaac
Rapp has been hurt most of the year and he was able to get some time.
It was good to see the kids get out there and contribute and everyone
had a piece of a win,” said Perry.
Perry says they have worked hard all season and it is starting to pay
off for them. “Actually, when
you look at it, it started in January with some of the seniors leading the
lifting and the kids putting in work back in the fieldhouse in the cages and
the weight room before I was even coming down there every day.
The dedication these kids have shown to this program is really
admirable and it is great that in paid off with a conference championship
this season,” he said.
South Central (17-4), #5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, is top seeded in the Galion district and
will host Upper Scioto Valley in a sectional final on Thursday.
Perry says they have to be at their best.
He says he has confidence in the team, especially its pitching.
“These kids know that we have a target on us and Upper Scioto
Valley is going to come to play. We
better show up or it could be a very short celebration.
The way we are hitting the ball and the way we are throwing it.
We have six arms that have really been fantastic all season,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That is the reason we were
able to go through a week like we went through last week.
When you have six kids that can go out there and throw strikes and
make the other team put the ball in play.
As a coach that is all you can ask for.
Our pitching staff this season has been amazing.”
Published 5/19/22
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South
Central Survives; Holds First Place
Aaron Hauler got the win and the game winning hit as South Central
scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally and beat New
London (4-3) on Tuesday evening outside of Greenwich.
The Trojans (14-3,8-1) lead both Norwalk St. Paul and Crestview by a
game in the Firelands Conference standings.
St. Paul smoked Monroeville (18-0) and Crestview beat Plymouth (7-2)
on Tuesday.
Coach Mike Perry says New London gave them a tremendous challenge.
“We had so many opportunities.
I am not going to take anything away from New London.
The (Logan) Girton kid pitched a tremendous game.
He is a really special player and a great kid.
They came out and came after us two days in a row.
We knew we are going to get everybody’s best shot,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They came out and played very well.
They played clean defensively and they pitched well.
We were able to win a couple of games and in the grand scheme that is
the important part. If we win
4-3 or 14-3 it doesn’t matter as long as we get that “W”.
South Central beat New London (9-7) in eight innings on Monday.
Brandon Mitchell pitched the first 3 and two-thirds for the Trojans
and Aaron Hauler finished up with the final 3 and one third, allowing only
one hit.
In the pivotal seventh Aaron’s older brother Kayden tied the game
with an RBI single and the Aaron provided the winning run with his own RBI
single.
Perry says Aaron is young and talented.
“Aaron Hauler, a 14-year-old freshmen, who came in and threw three
innings and shut them down and then got the game winning hit.
Sometimes I have to remind myself he is a 14-year-old kid, he is a
special player. He has
confidence in himself. His
talent is off the charts. Three
more years of high school baseball for this kid.
He is one of those kids that some of these big schools need to start
looking at now because he has that level of ability,” said Perry.
It has been a year of rainouts and South Central has had more than
its share.
Perry says they have three more Firelands Conference games this week.
“We have another back to back to back.
We have Western (Wednesday), we finish up our game with Mapleton on
Thursday and then we have Crestview on Friday.
It’s one game at a time, we are not looking down the road at
anybody. We did kind of hold
back a little bit of pitching because we knew it was going to be a grind.
(Wednesday) I fully expect Western Reserve to come out and take their
best shot at us too,” said Perry.
Published 5/11/22
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South
Central Takes Lead
South Central took sole possession of the first place in the
Firelands Conference with a (4-3) win over Norwalk St. Paul in a game played
Tuesday evening in Norwalk.
Coach Mike Perry says it was a nice win, but they have to keep
playing well. “I mean St. Paul
has eight wins in the conference and we have four, so you do not count your
chickens before they are hatched. We
still have a lot of work to do if we want to think about winning the
conference. I told them after
the game, St. Paul has won things thing five years in a row and they are not
going to lay down for anybody. They
are going to give us their best shot (Wednesday), so we better come ready to
play some ball,” said Perry.
St. Paul (12-3,8-1) coach Aaron Fires says they didn’t get the
clutch hits they needed. “South
Central did a better job than us with runners in scoring position.
Both teams had several opportunities and they just cashed in a few
more than we did. It was a good
high baseball game, unfortunately we just came up a little bit short.
Hopefully, (Wednesday) we can turn the tables,” said Fries.
South Central starter Karl Ferber took a shutout into the sixth
inning and Perry says again he was efficient.
“He does what he does. The
eight strikeouts were great, but the zero walks we will take that.
If you don’t throw baserunners out there all of the time with free
passes you are usually going to be successful.
He was very efficient,” he said.
South Central (8-1,4-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, scored three times in the first inning
and Perry says they stung the ball pretty good.
“I told the kids after the game that big hits can come anytime of
the game. We had a two run
double by our freshman Aaron Haluer in the first inning.
We put three on them in first inning and I’ll take that when you
can jump on a team early,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We
were squaring a lot balls up, but we had six or seven lineouts to
outfielders that we hit right on the nose, but right at people.
Sam (Seidel) has a big hit in the top of the sixth to give us a 4-0
lead. We came back and scored
three in the bottom on the sixth, but Sammy was able to come in and shut
them down in the bottom of the seventh.”
Seidel, headed to Bowling Green two play division I college baseball
next year, is an outstanding fielder as well as hitter.
He closed the game for the Trojans in the seventh.
Perry says he is a dynamite player.
“He is a fantastic player, a great kid and joy to coach.
You really get excited about that kid’s future at Bowling Green,
but I’m not going to worry about that.
I’m happy to have him while I have him.
I am not in a hurry to get rid of him yet,” he said.
Published 4/27/22
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South
Central Out Duels Plymouth
South Central outscored Plymouth (6-0) over the last three innings
and rallied to beat the Big Red (8-5) Tuesday evening in a Firelands
Conference game played in Plymouth.
The win keeps the Trojans (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com
baseball coaches poll in the small school division, in share of first place
with defending champion Norwalk St. Paul, an (8-2) winner over New London on
Tuesday, in the conference standings.
South Central scored twice in the top of the first inning when Karl
Ferber and Eric Sanders scored when Kayden Hauler reached on an error.
That remained the score until the bottom of the fourth when Plymouth
erupted for five runs. A double
by Cole Wentz, a single by Shae Sparks and a walk to Carson Tucker loaded
the bases. All three scored when
an infield grounder by Clayton Miller resulted in two errors.
Two more crossed on an RBI double by Zeth Goth.
However, South Central battled back to score four times in the top of
the fifth. Ferber singled and
with one out Cole Wuifrum walked. Kayden
Hauler delivered an RBI and single Brandon Mitchell tied the game on a two
run single. A fourth run would
score on a wild pitch to give the Trojans a (6-5) lead.
They added a run in the sixth on a Plymouth error and another in the
top of the seventh on wild pitch.
South Central coach Mike Perry says he believed his kids would rally
when they were down. “When we
met in the huddle after that inning. I
told them to listen, they are being loud and excited and we are being quiet
and we have our heads down. We
are a team, and I have always preached this from day one here, and other
places I have coached, you make a mistake, you leave it behind you, next
pitch, next play, and they a battled, I can’t say how proud I am of this
group,” said Perry.
Mitchell was a star and both the Trojan football and basketball
teams, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to play baseball.
Perry is glad he did. “It’s
pretty funny a kid that didn’t know if he was going to play baseball this
year has had big hit after big hit because he is smart.
He goes out there and he doesn’t try and work anything.
He will look for a pitch and if he gets it, he bangs it,” he said.
Plymouth gave the ball to three pitchers in Wentz, who started the
game and went the first four and third.
He was followed by Goth and Miller.
They walked a total of nine Trojans.
Plymouth made two errors and coach Jake Strayer says they made a lot
of mental mistakes and that cost them the game.
“We didn’t play very well defensively.
There were a lot of routine plays.
We were down mentally (Tuesday) night.
The guys on the bump battled and battled and battled and we didn’t
necessarily play the best defense behind them,” he told Swankonsports.com
after the game, “They should have scored two or three runs and we gave
them the other five or six. That
is a good team and they are going to make you make plays.
That’s what they did and we unfortunately didn’t make those
plays.”
Ferber went distance for South Central.
He allowed seven hits, walked two and fanned five.
He retried the last eight Plymouth batters he faced.
Bowling Green recruit senior shortstop Sam Seidel made a fabulous
diving play in the hole with a runner on in the sixth.
Perry says it was a gutsy performance by Ferber.
“That kid is a warrior. There
is no off switch for him. He is
always in attack mode. He is
always going to go after someone. He
was getting some pitches up. He
was hanging some curveballs, so we talked about it and he reset and went
back out there and did the job. The
four pitch inning in the sixth really, really helped us. Sam Seidel making a
fantastic play. All of the
adjectives in the world can’t describe how great that kid is,” said
Perry.
South Central hosts Plymouth (4-2,1-1) on Wednesday if it doesn’t
rain too much and Strayer says that is a game they must win.
“It’s a big one in the league (Wednesday).
We have to essentially get that one.
We don’t want to get down wo in the league race against a team that
is that good. It is a big one
and we really have to try and get that one,” he said.
Published 4/13/22
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South
Central Blanks Mapleton
South Central scored twice in the fifth and Karl Ferber shutout
Mapleton as the Trojans beat the Mounties (2-0) Tuesday evening in a
Firelands Conference game outside of Greenwich.
They two teams are scheduled to play again at Mapleton on Wednesday
if they can avoid the rain.
South Central coach Mike Perry says Ferber was outstanding.
“That has been a theme with us, not getting many, but giving up
even less. Karl Ferber started
(Tuesday) night and he was fantastic. Mapleton’s
kid the Benner kid was fantastic as well,” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “We pitched and we played defense and we got a couple of timely
runs. That is what we have been
doing lately.”
South Central (4-0,1-0) played well on defense against Mapleton and
Perry says that was a big key for them.
“That’s what we do. We
don’t throw it around. We make
the easy plays and we make some of the tough plays.
Eric Sanders has been fantastic is centerfield.
He is a sophomore and he ran down two (Tuesday) night that were in
the gap. He makes those plays
look really easy. He catches
everything that is routine,” said Perry.
The Trojans didn’t get many hits, two in fact, but Perry says they
got what they needed in the fifth. “We
had two hits. We scored in the
bottom of the fifth. Sam Seidel
had an RBI single and Karl Ferber had and RBI groundout and that’s all we
needed,” he said.
Published 4/06/22
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South
Central Strong All Over
South Central should again be one of the better baseball teams in the
Firelands Conference this year.
They have both Sam Seidel and Karl Ferber, outstanding talents back,
and coach Mike Perry says they have some other top level talent too.
“The really good thing that about this season is we have Brandon
Mitchell, the quarterback on the football team, came out and played baseball
this year. He is hitting the
ball well. He is another plus
arm on the mound,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Carson Music is back.
He is a very, very solid centerfielder.
We are going to have quite a bit of pitching.
A lot of coaches are usually worried about their pitching depth.
I seem to have a wealth of it this year and I’m not complaining at
all. I have quite a few kids
that can throw strikes.”
Perry also believes they can score some runs, which they have done in
scrimmage play. “I am very
encouraged. We have all four
scrimmages in already. We
scrimmaged Wellington (Monday). We
put up runs against everyone we played.
We played Midview, a division I team.
We played Willard and put up a bunch of runs on them.
Scored nine against Northmor. We
put up some runs against Wellington, who is a very, very good team out of
the Lorain County League,” said Perry.
South Central opens the regular season on Saturday at Hillsdale.
Their first Firelands Conference games are on April 4 and 5 against
Mapleton.
Perry says they need more communication and at the plate he wants his
hitters to be more aggressive. “We
definitely have to be better with our communication with each other.
Every coach complains about that that we don’t communicate enough.
That is going to come with the more we get under our belts we are
going to communicate better. We
also have to be more aggressive in the batter’s box,” he said.
Published 3/22/22
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South
Central Must Have Great Focus
South
Central plays Margaretta on Friday night in a division IV district final at
Willard High School.
For the Trojans they are attempting to win their second district
title in four years.
They advanced with a (44-41) win over Lucas on Tuesday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played physical basketball.
“Well, we knew it was going to be a war.
It has been the last few years with them.
They are very well coached and have a lot of skill and athleticism
and physicality. I thought our
kids really matched that physicality on Tuesday night,” said Seidel.
That was one of his criticisms of their play that they were not
physical in a (69-51) loss to Margaretta on January 22.
He says they must continue that kind of play Friday night.
“I am guessing that is how it was going to be played and how it’s
going to be called. That is
usually the going rate for the district tournament,” he said.
South Central (18-7) locks horns with Margaretta (21-3) on Friday
night. The Polar Bears smoked
Monroeville (57-43) in their semifinal on Tuesday night.
Jake Leibacher, the district 6 player of the year, scored 23 of his
29 points in the second half Tuesday night.
Seidel says he is just a tremendous player and is just hard to stop
from getting to the basket. “I
think people have been trying to do that all year.
He is really dynamic. He
is explosive athletically. He is
very skilled. I think the
biggest thing for me is he has got a motor as he is very unselfish,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “With that being said he has
pieces around him and he is willing to give it up to his teammates and they
are able to fill it as well. It’s
a tall task for anybody. It’s
how it has been all year for them. So,
we know the challenge before us. I
am just grateful the kids get the opportunity.”
Seidel says Leinbacher also does a great job on defense.
“I think the Logan Toms kid (from Lucas) is a really good defender
and I would compare Jake to that. He
is really good at the defensive end and can pressure the basketball.
He is physical and has a really good first step.
All of those things, so he is good at both ends the floor,” he
said.
To have a chance at making it to the regional, Seidel says they have
to be consistent at both ends. “We
are going to have to have consistent focus at both ends with everybody that
is on the floor. We have only
been playing five guys. We are
really going to have to be glued in and focused at both ends of the floor
with who we are guarding and what they do, what their strengths are.
Obviously, we have to know the whereabouts of #20 basically at all
times. Just consistent focus
throughout the game and do our best and hope for the best,” said Seidel.
Published 3/04/22
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South
Central Takes One From Lucas
Isaac Blair scored seven of his game high 25 points in the deciding
fourth quarter as South Central rallied to beat Lucas (44-41) in a division
IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
The Trojans (18-7) return Friday night in an attempt to win their
second district title in four years when they play Margaretta (21-3), a
(57-43) winner over Monroeville in the nightcap.
Trailing by one, Blair stole the ball near half court and scored to
give the Trojans a lead (37-36) that they would never give back.
“Isaac comes up with some plays like that.
He is long and he has unbelievable instincts.
He made a huge play for us,” said South Central coach Brett Seidel.
Brandon Mitchell followed with a hoop in the lane and then Blair
scored, was fouled, and converted the free throw to give the Trojans a (7-0)
run and a (42-36) lead with 3:05 to play in the game, but things were far
from over.
Ty Lehnhart dropped in two free throws and drilled a three point
basket to cut it to one with 1:27 left in the game.
After Hagen Adams missed the front end of the one and one, Lucas came
down with a chance to take the lead, but Blair blocked Logan Toms baseline
turnaround jumper to save the day for the Trojans.
“He is averaging about a block a game.
He is not the most physical kid.
He tries to avoid contact when he gets to the rim, but he has
unbelievable savvy and instincts and he used his length right there too,”
added Seidel.
Blair tipped the ball to Sam Seidel, who drained two free throws with
2.5 seconds left to provide the final margin.
Lucas had beaten South Central (41-33) in a regular season game.
Coach Taylor Iceman says their goal is always to outwork the other
team, but the Trojans outworked them Tuesday night.
“We didn’t take care of the ball good (Tuesday) night.
We had untimely turnovers. We
didn’t have a lot of them when you look back.
I told out guys we shot 34 free throws in the first round and we shot
five (Tuesday). I didn’t think
the officials were very good, but they didn’t lose the game,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “Credit South Central, they played
physical because they could get away with it.
If they are going to let you do it, why not?
We had the ball up there and we are running a little clock and we
turn it over, just a bad stretch there.”
South Central never subbed in the game and Lucas didn’t do very
much either, so the started had to give every once they had.
Seidel says he saved his timeouts for the late going to give his kids
a little break. “I’ll be
completely honest I called timeouts to give them rest.
We didn’t sub the whole game. We
saved our timeouts for the second half just for the purpose of having rest.
That’s what we talked about in the huddle.
Sell out, we have three left and we will get you another break here
in a minute or two,” said Seidel.
It was a classic, evenly contested, district level basketball game as
South Central’s six point lead was the largest for either side all night.
There were nine lead changes and three ties in the game.
Seidel had seven, Adams six and Mitchell six for the Trojans.
South Central held the Cubs two leading scorers in brothers Logan and
Corbin Toms to four and two respectfully, but Lehnhart stepped up to get 23
points for the Cubs.
Seidel says Lenhart was tremendous and he really kept Lucas in the
game. “I thought their role
plays hits some shots. Ty
Lehnhart hit shot after shot and I don’t know if he missed.
Obviously, we are trying to take away Corbin and Logan Tombs,
starting with Logan and I thought we did a really good job of that, but he
really stepped up for them and frankly kept them in the game,” said
Seidel.
Iceman says Lehnhart is a kid that is capable of those kinds of
performances. “Looking at the
book, Corbin and Logan combined for six and we were in the game.
If you told me that before and I would have thought we got whipped,
but Ty played his butt off and he can do that.
We have known, we have just been trying to get that out of him,”
said Iceman.
Published 3/02/22
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South
Central Must Work to Get Shots
South Central plays Lucas on Tuesday night in a division IV district
semifinal at Willard High School.
The winner plays either Monroeville or Margaretta for a district
title on Friday night back at Willard.
On Friday night, South Central (17-7) overwhelmed Danbury-Lakeside
(71-43) to win a sectional title.
They put four kids in double figures and coach Brett Seidel says they
got off to really good start against an improved Lakers team.
“If you look at them on film and on paper the second half of the
season they had been playing a whole lot better.
We went and watched them live twice and they passed the eye test.
So, obviously we had to buckle down right away and our kids were
focused and ready to go. Thankfully,
we jumped out to a big lead to start the game,” said Seidel.
South Central scored the first 14 points and led (15-2) after one
quarter.
Kayden Hauler led the Trojans with 20 on Friday night.
Isaac Blair added 16, Hegen Adams and Brandon Mitchell had 12 each.
Lucas (19-4) beat Plymouth (46-31) to win their sectional title,
holding Plymouth to four first half points, and they also beat South Central
(41-33) in a non-conference game on December 18.
Seidel says the Cubs are really good on defense and not too bad on
offense too. “They are really
good defensively. They are well
coached, well schemed. They are
balanced. They have the (Hunter)
Church kid coming off the bench they have a lot of different guys that can
contribute in different ways, so it makes them difficult to guard.
They are good on the glass at both ends.
They do a lot of good things at both ends of the floor,” he said.
Lucas beat South Central (34-26) in the district final last year.
Seidel says they have to score more than 25, 30 points if the are
going to win, but that isn’t easy against Lucas.
“They are the two time defending district champs and they are that
way for a reason. Without
question it starts with (coach) Iceman and their mentality and their will to
compete at both ends of the floor. The
defensive end for them is really good,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday afternoon, “Obviously, we are going to have to figure out ways to
score the basketball in the half court.
That basically is what our focus is right now is trying to figure out
different ways to score because we know they are very good on ball
defensively and they are going to try and take the three point line and the
paint away from us.”
Published 3/01/22
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South
Central Trying Figure out Rotations
South Central takes on Mansfield St. Peter’s in a division IV
sectional semifinal at Shelby High School on Wednesday night.
The Trojans have enjoyed quite a bit of postseason success in recent
years with three straight sectional titles and a district title in 2019.
Coach Brett Seidel says it’s about handling tournament pressure.
“We try to promote that pressure is a privilege.
Obviously, when you are the higher seed you inherit that pressure,”
he said.
South Central (15-7) plays Mansfield St. Peter’s (3-18) on
Wednesday night. The Spartans
three wins this year are all over schools that are not members of the OHSAA,
including two over Mansfield Temple Christian.
In the first game of the season, South Central blasted St. Peter’s
(73-21) on November 26, however, Seidel says this will be a different team
they will be playing on Wednesday. “I
know they have added a player and they have progressively gotten better
throughout season. I have
watched that film and some other films.
More importantly is how are we going to play?
We say it all of the time, it’s not who we play its how we play,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Right now, that is what
we are concentrating on how are we going to as many guys involved as we can?
Against Monroeville we had two guys score the majority of our points.
How are we going to get a nice balanced rotation and nice balanced
scoring column? That is kind of
what our concern is trying to get better as to where we have more
balance.”
They have not had much depth this season and Seidel says they will be
without Karl Ferber, one of their starters for the game against St.
Peter’s, if not longer. “We
have been playing six guys rotation wise all year.
All six guys average anywhere between seven and 16 points with Isaac
(Blair). Ferber went down with
an ankle injury in the first half of the Monroeville game and we are not
sure if or when he is coming back. So,
that is something we are trying to figure out as well.
We are trying to figure out how we would be able to sub because we
were playing six and now we are down to five,” he said.
Published 2/22/22
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South
Central With Big Challenge
South Central plays at Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game on
Friday night. The winner claims
second in the conference this season behind Western Reserve.
The Trojans have won their last three, two of them have been in
non-conference play against bigger schools.
They beat Edison (71-46) on Monday.
Coach Brett Seidel called it a gutsy performance.
“It was our fourth game in seven days, so our kids legs were a
little shaky there towards the end. I
thought our performance was pretty well,” he said.
On Saturday, they downed a pretty good Bellevue team (58-41) at home.
Seidel calls their effort focused.
“I think they expended a lot against Clyde the night before, but I
thought our kids were really focused on the game plan.
I thought that we guarded the way we needed to guard.
They hit some deep threes, but other than that I thought we did a
really good job on both ends of the floor,” said Seidel.
South Central (15-6,10-3) plays at Monroeville (16-5,10-3) on Friday
night. The Eagles took Western
to the end last Thursday before losing (61-58) to the conference champions
and then lost Saturday (68-43) to Margaretta.
Seidel says they are very good on both ends.
“It is definitely the best Monroeville team that I have seen since
I have been coaching. They can
hurt you in many ways. They have
all of the pieces,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon,
“They guard you well. They can
score from the interior, the can from the “O” glass, they can score from
the perimeter. They have
numerous go to guys as well. There
role players can score as well. It’s
a tough task.”
South Central won the first time the teams played (48-43) on January
7.
Seidel says a win Friday night would give them some momentum heading
into the tournament. “It’s
what everybody is talking about right now.
You don’t want to back into postseason play.
You want to gain some momentum heading into the tournament,” he
said.
Published 2/18/22
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South
Central Returns Home for St. Paul
South Central tries to shift gears as they return home to play
Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game on Thursday night.
They dropped into third place in the conference standings when
conference champion Western Reserve beat them (62-52) on Monday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played hard, but they were never able to
get the big basket and make it a manageable margin.
“There were a few stretches that we were in the game and there were
a few stretches that they were pretty much in control.
It felt like we could never get over the five, seven point hump,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We would get it down to
around there, five, seven, and then it would go back to nine or 11.
I liked my kid’s fight. We
just weren’t able to finish through their contact and we weren’t able to
guard through their contact.”
South Central (12-6,9-3) plays host to Norwalk St. Paul (4-14,3-8) on
Thursday in “FC” action. St
Paul lost to Western (64-26) in their last conference game on January 28.
The lost (50-43) to Sandusky St. Mary’s on Saturday night in a
non-conference game.
Seidel says they have made some personnel changes that have helped
them improve. “I know they
have made a few chances to their roster.
I wasn’t able to coach against them the last time.
I didn’t go to St. Paul. I
have seen them on film. We have
watched our film. We are
familiar with the (Eli) Fisher kid, the (Kaden) Maxwell kid and the (Travis)
Herner kid and Herner really hurt us the last time.
Our focus right now is to try and get better each day.
Doing our best to have a game like approach,” said Seidel.
South Central has lost its last four games after winning 12 of their
first 14 games.
Seidel says getting a win Thursday night it pretty important.
“Not only have we played really good competition a lot of those
have been on the road as well. The
fount half of our schedule a lot of it was home.
It’s good to come home (Thursday) night,” he said.
Published 2/10/22
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South
Central Must Fight Hard
It’s South Central’s chance to make things interesting in the
Firelands Conference on Friday night as they travel to meet conference
leader Western Reserve.
As it stands now, Western leads both South Central and Monroeville by
two games. A win by the
Roughriders gives them no less than a co-title.
After a tough loss to Crestview (62-53) in a conference game on
Friday night, the Trojans played well in a (57-55) loss in overtime to the
Norwalk Truckers on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they gave a great effort.
“I thought we played extremely hard.
I thought we were focused on the task at hand.
I thought we fought on each possession.
Credit coach (Steve) Gray and Norwalk for executing well enough to
come away with the win,” he said.
South Central (12-5,9-2) is at Western Reserve (16-0,11-0), #2 in the
Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school
division, on Friday night. The
Roughriders are coming off a (64-26) destruction of Norwalk St. Paul last
Friday.
Seidel says they are just so balanced on offense.
“I said this the first time we played them it is hard to find
weaknesses, but I would say the most glaring thing is their unselfishness.
They are very, very unselfish from one through eight.
That is a testament to coach (Chris) Sheldon and what he has
instilled in them. It is very
hard to key on anybody. It’s
hard to take anybody away because they have so many kids that can put it on
the floor and put it in the basket,” said Seidel.
You need to make adjustments during a game, but Seidel says against
Western that is very hard to do. “Obviously
there are going to be in game adjustments on the fly.
How is the game called? Who
is making threes? Who is posting
us? Who is getting to the rim?
Those types of things are always in game adjustments, but with them
it is one through eight and you really can’t key on just one or two guys.
They are very deep and very skilled at each position,” he said.
Western won the first time (59-40) on December 22.
Seidel says Friday they must continue to just play with intensity for
32 minutes no matter the score. “I
was feeling pretty good, I remember looking up at the clock late in the
third, about a minute to go and it was six points and they closed the
quarter out by hitting a three and that made it nine.
Then I remember them hitting us with a slip at the start of the
fourth and it ballooned to 11 and our body language told me we didn’t have
much fight left,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “So,
just continuing to play through their runs.
They make plays at both ends and we have to continue to play and not
allow those to roll together.”
Published 2/03/22
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South
Central Working on Getting it Back
South Central, the second place team in the Firelands Conference,
plays at home against Crestview in a conference game on Friday night.
They trail Western Reserve by a game and play the Roughriders next
week, but they must beat Crestview to make that game relevant.
Last Saturday, they were hammered by Margaretta (69-51) in a
non-conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were overwhelmed really.
“It wasn’t just a loss it was an absolute beatdown.
We went there and I am going to be blunt, they ran us out of the gym.
We weren’t even deserving of being on the same floor with them.
We turned the basketball over, we rushed shots, we were out of
character, and we did not play any defense at all.
They looked two, three steps faster than us at every position for the
entire 32 minutes. Credit Steve
Keller and Margaretta,” said Seidel.
Seidel adds they have to get back to playing solid basketball because
Crestview will be challenge. “We
have kind went back to basics and emphasizing fundamentals and the things we
need to sharpen in order to even compete in the next basketball game against
a very good and improved team. I
know their scores against the Sheldons doesn’t reflect that,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “From what I have seen on film
they missed five or six layups in the first quarter against Crawford and
that changes the entire game. Obviously,
Crawford and Western are very, very good opponents, but I do see some things
on film that Crestview has improved on.”
South Central (12-3,9-1) entertains Crestview (6-8,4-5) on Friday
night. The Cougars are coming
off losses to two unbeaten teams in Western Reserve (68-55) last Friday in
conference play and Colonel Crawford (78-40) Tuesday in non-conference
action.
The Trojans beat them (59-40) on December 17.
However, Seidel knows this will be a challenge for them.
“It is kind of a measuring stick of where we are at.
It’s the second time around with opponents from the league.
We played on the road the first time and you are at home this time,
so you are hoping the kids are ready to play.
We can’t worry about what happened last Saturday, we can’t worry
about what happened the first time we played them, we have to come ready to
play,” he said.
Published 1/27/22
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South
Central Continuing Good Play
South
Central kept itself in the race in the Firelands Conference with two wins
last week and now they face a trip around the corner to rival Plymouth on
Friday night in confidence play.
They play at Margaretta in a key non-conference game when it comes to
tournament seeding on Saturday.
They trail Western Reserve by a game in the conference standings.
A win at New London (63-24) last Thursday was followed by an
outstanding performance on Saturday in beating a pretty good Mapleton team
(62-44) in a conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played very well.
“I thought our kids were really focused and ready to play.
We came out that way. I
think it started 22-4 to start the game.
I liked our kid’s energy and I thought we were really tough
mentally and physically. We got
some huge contributions from various kids,” he said.
South Central (11-2,8-1) visits Plymouth (4-9,1-7) on Friday night.
The Big Red lost to Crestview (73-39) and Western Reserve (73-30)
last week in conference play.
Seidel says they have quality players with experience.
“They have three, three-year starters.
I know they have been missing a couple of kids here recently with
protocols,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I know they
are going to be ready to play. It’s
a rivalry game. They, obviously,
played well against us the last time and they are at home.
So, records are kind of thrown out the window at that point.”
Zeth Goth and Josh Beebe have missed a lot of time the last couple of
weeks due to illness.
Back on December 11, South Central had to rally in the second half to
beat Plymouth (37-35) in a game that came down to the end.
South Central senior guard Sam Seidel stole the ball and scored the
game winner in the final seconds.
Brett, his dad, knows Plymouth will give it all they have.
“I think we are going to get their best shot, we know that.
I think our kids are going to ready to compete.
We have to go to their place, so we have to be ready to go from the
start,” he said.
Margaretta (10-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball
poll in the small school division, beat Willard (69-60) to stay in the race
in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference last week.
Seidel knows the Polar Bears are going to be a very tough challenge
for them. “They are as
balanced a team as I have seen. I
have watched them on film, but I just watched them live Friday at Willard.
They are very balanced and long all over, skilled all over, and they
have the (Jake) Leibacher kid, who is a handful.
He is very explosive athletically, a very skilled kid, lots of
colleges are after him. He
presents a problem in the post and on the perimeter,” said Seidel.
Published 1/18/22
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South
Central Wants to Use Momentum
South Central has a Thursday-Saturday doubleheader in the Firelands
Conference this as they travel to New London and Mapleton for conference
games.
They stand in second place in the conference, a game behind Western
Reserve.
Last Friday, they handed Monroeville their first loss of the season
(48-43) on Friday in “FC” play.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were very good on defense.
“I thought we were good defensively.
Offensively, we had a lot of shots go in an out.
I thought we were able to get and take good shots.
I liked our shot selection. Lots
of times the old cliché they are pretty good if they make shots.
I didn’t feel like we made shots that we normally can, but we were
able to defend well enough to win,” said Seidel.
Seidel says they want to take the momentum they created into this
week. “That’s what we have
talked about is building on it and not being complacent or satisfied,” he
said.
South Central (9-2,6-1) is at New London (0-10,0-6) on Thursday
night. The Trojans won the first
meeting (66-44) on December 3.
Seidel says they really didn’t play very well that night and they
want a better performance against the Wildcats.
“That is exactly what we are talking about this week is us.
That is what we can control. We
can’t control New London or their record or who they have played or who
they haven’t and how we played against them last time.
The only thing we can control right now is, are we focused?
Are we getting better each and every day?
That is kind what our challenge is to our kids,” said Seidel.
Mapleton (8-3,3-3) had won its last seven games, in fact they had not
lost since South Central beat them in Greenwich (58-47) on December 9 before
falling (71-66) to Elyria Open Door Christian on Tuesday night.
Seidel says the Mounties have talent and have put some things
together. “Well, we talked at
the very beginning of the year that we thought they had a nice core back and
they have lots of skill, lots of athletes and now their record is reflecting
it. They have a tough week this
week playing Thursday against Western Reserve and then us on the back
end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So, obviously
they are for real. We have to
take into consideration how they are playing basketball right now and how
well they played against us the last time.”
Published 1/12/22
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South
Central Plays Unbeaten Monroeville
South Central hosts Firelands Conference co-leader Monroeville on
Friday night in a very important game when it comes to the eventual
conference champion.
A loss by the Trojans would put them two games back and would give
them losses to the two leaders at home in the first round.
They beat Wynford (61-44) in a non-conference game on Tuesday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were better in the second half.
“From what I have seen on film, Wynford continues to get better.
I didn’t feel like we started out very well in letting Filliater
get to the rim and get some touches and some easy looks that made him
comfortable,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We had a
battle in the first half, I thought we picked up the pace of pressure a
little bit in the second half and we were able to pull away.
Mike Smith is doing a nice job.”
South Central (8-2,5-1) is at home for Monroeville (7-0,5-0) on
Friday night. The Eagles have
not played since a (53-35) conference win over Crestview on December 22.
Seidel says they have guys that are hard to guard.
“They have three very dynamic players, which carry a lot of
intangibles. They all three can
make plays off the dribble, they all three are selfless and make plays for
others, they are able to make plays for themselves, they are able to post
you, they are able to take you off the dribble, they are able to shoot it
from deep, all three of them. On
top of it all they hit the “O” glass extremely hard,” said Seidel.
Seidel adds the play with a physical nature.
“They are very physical at both ends of the floor.
Obviously, (Isaac) Roeder looks physical when he walks on the floor.
He passes the eye test. We
are trying to challenge our kids that we are going to have to be tough
enough physically to play through contact,” he said.
The South Central coach says they want to physical, but they also
don’t want to be in foul trouble. “I
guess it has a lot to do with how the game is called and we have to adjust
on the fly as will they. That is
something that happens within each game.
Each game is called just a little bit differently depending on the
crew,” he said.
Published 1/07/22
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South
Central Must Make Shots
South Central, now a game back in the Firelands Conference, plays an
important conference game on Wednesday night at Norwalk St. Paul.
They fell out of a share of the conference lead when Western Reserve
smoked them (59-40) in a conference game last week.
Coach Brett Seidel says the Roughriders played very well and they
weren’t very good. “Credit
coach (Chris) Sheldon and Western Reserve, I feel like they played very
well. All eight of their guys
contributed. They had a nice
game plan and we didn’t play so hot on top of it.
So, that is the result,” said Seidel.
South Central (6-2,4-1) visits Norwalk St. Paul (1-6,1-4) on
Wednesday night. The Flyers lost
to Mapleton (58-42) last week.
Seidel says they will be a challenge.
“They have a nice point guard, a nice off guard and a nice post,
all with game experience. The
(Eli) Fisher kid, the (Travis) Herner kid and the (Kaden) Maxwell kid are
really good,” he told Swankonspots.com on Wednesday, “I think (coach
Steve) Minor is doing a nice job with them.
They are changing some things up defensively and we have to be ready
to play.”
Seidel says it’s important to get win this week.
“It definitely hasn’t been a real good Christmas taste after last
Wednesday. We would like to get
that taste out of our mouth,” he said.
To do it, Seidel says they have to connect on some perimeter shots.
“Honestly we have to make some shots.
That sounds really simple and cliché, but I feel like they keep you
out of the paint. I feel like we
are going to have to make some jump shots,” he said.
Published 12/29/21
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Firelands
Conference Co-Leaders Clash
South Central and Western Reserve, two of the three leaders in the
Firelands Conference, square off on Wednesday night in a key early season
matchup of contenders.
In maybe their best performance of the season last Friday, the
Trojans handled Crestview (59-40), however, on Saturday night lost (41-33)
at Lucas in a non-conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they made some shots against Crestview, but
they weren’t tough enough against Lucas.
“We played pretty well at Crestview.
I thought we played pretty hard and it was a physical game and we
made some shots. John Kurtz is
doing a great job there and we were fortunate to come out of there a win.
Saturday night, Lucas played really, really hardnosed defense and we
weren’t tough with the ball and we weren’t tough at the front of the
rim. They were the best team on
the floor,” said Seidel.
South Central (6-1,4-0) hosts Western Reserve (6-0,4-0), #3 in the
Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school
division, on Wednesday. The
Roughriders, the defending conference champion, beat Norwalk St. Paul
(69-42) last Friday.
Seidel says Western has so much balance and so many guys that can
play. “They don’t have the
two elite guys like before where you could like focus on two guys the
majority of the game, and I am not saying they didn’t have pieces around
them because they did, but now they are really balanced and diverse and they
play one through eight and they don’t miss a beat,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “When they sub you can’t tell.
They are very deep, they have very balanced, they can score on the
interior, they can take you off the dribble, and they can shoot it from
deep. It is a Chris Sheldon
coached team, so they are well coached.
They defend really well, so our hands are full.”
Western has been playing excellent defense and Seidel says to get
good shots they need to be solid ballhandlers and handle some contact.
“We are expecting full court man and that is what they do.
They will get up in you and ball pressure is the key and they try and
turn you over. You have to be
ball tough and be ready to go,” he said.
Published 12/21/21
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South
Central With Tough Weekend
South Central, co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays at
Crestview in a key early season matchup on Friday night.
They play at Lucas in an interesting non-league game on Saturday
night.
Senior guard Sam Seidel stole the ball and scored with .5 seconds
left to give the Trojans a (37-35) win over Plymouth in a conference game on
Saturday night.
They only had 11 points at the half in the game and coach Brett
Seidel says defense really was the difference.
“The ball didn’t go in the hoop that is for sure.
Credit Plymouth for making things difficult for us.
We made some things difficult on ourselves as well.
Our defense was able to keep us in the ballgame and we were able to
close it out in the second half,” said Seidel.
South Central (5-0,3-0) plays at Crestview (4-1,2-1) on Friday night.
The Cougars lost (56-45) to Western Reserve on Saturday.
Seidel says Crestview does a lot of things well.
“First of all, they are well coached.
John (Kurtz) always does a great job with every team he has been
with. They shoot it well, they
handle it well, they rebound well at both ends of the floor.
They can score on the interior, make threes from the perimeter.
The weaknesses are few and far between.
Obviously, it is a huge test for us on the road,” said Seidel.
One of things the Trojans try and do is take something away from the
opponent’s offense, but Seidel says with Crestview that is difficult.
“It is really hard to concentrate on one thing to take away.
That is what we kind of try to do is to take something away.
It’s hard to concentrate on something because you can be hurt in
another way. They are very
balanced and they are also deep. It
is going to take a very special effort from us,” he said.
Lucas (2-0) is the favorite in the Mid-Buckeye Conference again this
season.
Seidel says this will be a tough, physical test for them.
“It is the same Lucas as old. Iceman
has done what he has done there, he has built it.
They have bought in and they are continuing to do what they do.
They are very good defensively, very physical defensively,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They have skill, they can take
you off the dribble, they can score on the interior, and make shots from the
perimeter. Going into it it is
the toughest weekend that we have had yet and maybe the toughest weekend of
the season.”
Published 12/17/21
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South
Central Needs Better Performance
South Central plays a couple of home games in the Firelands
Conference this week as they host Mapleton on Thursday and Plymouth on
Saturday.
They started their pursuit of a conference title last Friday with a
(66-44) win over New London.
However, coach Brett Seidel says it was not a very good performance
on their part. “I’m not
taking anything away from New London and what their kids did and what Randy
Endsley got them to do, but we didn’t play particularly well.
I thought we were very sticky with the ball.
I didn’t think it was shared it very well and I thought we got out
of character defensively. I
thought we tried to do some things that we don’t normally do,” said
Seidel.
The Trojans (3-0,1-0) host Mapleton (1-2,0-1) on Thursday night.
Mapleton lost (68-43) to Western Reserve in a conference game last
Friday, but beat Loudonville (76-57) in non league play on Saturday.
Seidel says the Mounties can do a lot of things.
“They have skill top to bottom, they are athletic, they have some
tough kids, they have kids that can make shots, they have a kid that can
take over in the Grundy kid, he single handily kept them in the Monroeville
game, and Cam Sloter the last couple of games has had really good games
against Western and Loudonville,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “So, they have lots of kids that can make shots and can
dribble, pass and shoot. That is
skill level that you have to guard.”
Plymouth (1-2,0-1) lost (58-43) to Crestview last Friday.
Seidel says the Big Red has experience and they can put the ball in
the basket. “They three, three
year starters in Miller, Beebe and Goth and they just added another 6’6”
kid in the middle, who is massive. So,
obviously with the experience and toughness that they have and their ability
to score the basketball, Saturday is going to be a tough task for sure,”
he said.
Yes, the Trojans did win their opener, but Seidel says their play
must be improved this week. “I
would definitely put Mapleton and Plymouth as very good, competitive teams
in our league and in our area. Obviously,
we can’t play like we played against New London, no offense against them,
the way we shared the basketball and gambled at the defensive end.
If we do that, we are going to be behind for sure,” said Seidel.
Published 12/07/21
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South
Central With New London
South Central is at home for New London in the Firelands Conference
opener for both schools on Friday night.
The Trojans improved to (2-0) on the year with a (65-37) win at
Buckeye Central on Tuesday night in non-league action.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were able to get some open shots.
“Our effort has been very good.
Our balance has been very good. We
have shared the basketball. When
that happens, it seems like the shot goes down a lot easier,” he said.
New London has started (0-2) for first year head coach Randy Endsley.
The lost (45-30) to Edison last Friday and (44-19) to Wellington on
Saturday.
Seidel says they will show them some pressure.
“I have seen them on film. They
are wanting to play up tempo and get up in you in the full court, play a
little three quarter court trap and zone press,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday afternoon, “They have a really good player in (Jamil) Arnold
and the (Gavin) Carruthers can really shoot it.
All of their other guys play extremely hard.”
If the Trojans can handle the ball, Seidel says that is going to put
them in position to score. “We
are hoping to handle their pressure and be able to turn that into some easy
baskets for us in transition. I
like our guards right now. I
think if we make good decisions with the basketball, we will be able to
maybe get a few easy buckets,” said Seidel.
Published 12/03/21
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South
Central Becoming More Consistent
South Central gets the boys’ basketball season started at home
Friday night against Mansfield St. Peter’s in non-conference play.
Coach Brett Seidel says he likes the way his team improved this month
in preparation for the season. “Last
year, I remember we didn’t make much progress throughout the preseason and
in the first couple of game we even struggled and then by the halfway point
of the year we made a lot of growth,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “This year we have progressively gotten a little better each
time out on the floor as far as live play with scrimmages.
The consistency is getting better as well.
That was my biggest concern early was we were very inconsistent and I
feel like we have gotten a little bit better with that.”
Last season, the Trojans beat St. Peter’s in their opener, but by
only three points and they really didn’t play every well.
As far as this year’s Spartans, Seidel says they remain a mystery
to him in many ways. He says he
doesn’t know much about them. “Not
much other than a newspaper article. I
don’t see a lot of experience and size.
I know they are probably going to be very athletic, very quick.
I don’t know much about them. Right
now, we are just focusing on us and trying to get better,” he said.
Seidel says they need to be relaxed and play their game, do what they
are best at doing. “At this
point I think the kids are ready to play a game period.
I thought last year we were ready to play a game, but I thought we
pressed a little bit too much and didn’t do what we had worked on
throughout the preseason, so I hope he kids just come out and do what we do
and play the way we have practiced,” said Seidel.
Published 11/23/21
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Inconsistency
Plaguing South Central
South Central has been a factor in the Firelands Conference race
every year for more than half a decade now and this year they would seem to
have the elements to be competitive again.
Coach Brett Seidel says their biggest issue during the preseason has
been inconsistency in their play. “I
would say that we are inconsistent right now.
There are glimpses of what we could be.
There are times when we are really good and sometimes when we are not
so good. I think the kids
understand that as well and it is definitely a process,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “In our scrimmages, that is kind
of what we have seen as well. We
have played a pretty good scrimmage schedule and we start out kind of slow
and don’t play particularly well and as the scrimmage wears on we start
getting a little better.”
A lot of that inconsistency, according to Seidel, is based on the
fact that many players are being asked to accept different roles and they
need a little more time. “I
think it is just reps and experience. There
are kids that are playing different roles now.
We have supporting cast members now becoming the focal points.
We had a ball dominate guard a few years ago for several years and
then we had a guy we tried to throw it into for the majority of our offense
last year. Assuming different
roles and accepting those roles and then starting to feel comfortable in
them to where they are excelling,” said Seidel.
South Central tips off the season the day after Thanksgiving at home
against Mansfield St. Peter’s in non-conference play.
Their first Firelands Conference game is December 3 when they host
New London.
Seidel says his kids are ready to play a real game that counts.
“We have a numbers kind of issue where we didn’t have a whole lot
of people come out, so it is kind of hard for us to go five on five
competitively, so scrimmages have been very good for us.
I guess we are able, but we are just not willing, to go head to head
in practice that much, so they are definitely ready to play some games,”
he said.
Published 11/18/21
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South
Central Gets to Play St. Paul
South Central and Norwalk St. Paul did not play a Firelands
Conference game this year due to COVID concerns with the Trojans, but as it
turns out they will play Saturday night at Contractor’s Stadium inside
Whitney Field in the first round of the division VII playoffs.
Coach Corey Fickiesen of South Central says they look forward to
fulfilling their obligation. “It
was a game that should have been played, but we weren’t able to on our
end. Now, it is a game that we
get to go play an that’s a good thing.
We feel that conference games should get played and now we get the
opportunity to do that thing on our end.
It is pretty interesting that we get to do it and we are glad it gets
to happen,” he said.
South Central (3-6), a (32-28) loser to Plymouth in a conference game
last week, plays up at St. Paul (8-1), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the small school division, on Saturday night.
St. Paul blanked Monroeville (28-0) last Saturday.
Fickiesen says this is just a typical St. Paul football team that has
all of the elements you want in a great team.
“It is the same as every year.
Their coaches do an amazing job of getting the best out of the kids,
making sure they are in the right spot all of the time, the biggest thing is
they don’t hurt themselves. Offensively,
they are going to move the ball and take care of it.
They play really good on defense.
In winning games against really tough opponents their defense has
played really well. They don’t
beat themselves and they try and beat you with special teams,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They are going to fire out low and
hard, like they have always done and the running backs run extremely hard.
It is very similar to how they have always looked.
You just have to ready on both sides to fire out, have the same type
of physicality and win the line of scrimmage.
Those are the things that if you want to beat them, you have to be
able to do.”
Fickiesen says they can’t hold anything back, they have to give
every ounce they have got. “That’s
what really good teams do. We
have talked to our kids all week that we just have to come and play as hard
as we can with everything that we have got and at the end of the day we will
see what the score is. We are
excited about the opportunity to be in the playoffs, to get another game,
but especially to play a conference team that we should have played earlier
in the year. We are going to
come out and play as hard as we can and give everything that we have got,”
he said.
Published 10/29/21
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South
Central Needs Win Over Plymouth
South Central, after an upset win over Western Reserve last week,
with another win this week at Plymouth has a chance to make the division VII
playoffs this fall.
Carson Music returned an interception 105 yards on the last play of
the first half and Brandon Mitchell hooked up with Kayden Hauler for a
scoring pass with 6:25 to play to provide the winning points in the (15-14)
win over Western last Friday in Firelands Conference action.
It was their best overall performance of the season, according to
head coach Corey Fickiesen. “Stat
wise you look at the numbers and offensively we didn’t put up great
numbers, but when you talk about a total team performance and grit and some
of those different things you associate with the sport of football it by far
was our best performance. The
kids just continued the battle and continued to fight and we made a couple a
plays when we needed to. That is
a great football team and it is a really well coached football team that we
were able to beat. We were
really happy with our kid’s performance,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says it is great to have a reward if they are able to beat
Plymouth on Friday. “It is
what everyone wants you are ending the season here on week 10.
You have a chance, you win and you are in.
The crazy part of it is it is possible for every team in the
Firelands Conference this year to get into the playoffs, which tells you
about our conference. We
understand it is a big week for that, but it is also a rivalry game for us
against Plymouth. They are a
really good football team, so we are going to have to get ready this week
because we have to go beat another really good football team,” he said.
South Central (3-5,1-4) makes the short trek to Plymouth (4-4,1-4) on
Friday night. Plymouth didn’t
play last week, it would have been their New London week.
Their last game was (43-8) loss to Firelands Conference leader
Crestview.
Fickiesen says the Big Red has an excellent running back in Shae
Sparks, he has 1,038 yards, second in the conference.
He says to beat Plymouth you have to compete in the trenches.
“Well, anyone in the area knows the name Shae Sparks and it’s for
a very good reason because the kid is a great player.
I know him really well. He
is a former South Central kid. He
is a phenomenal player, athletic and fast and does a lot of things.
A lot of the other guys they have go unnoticed that are also really
good players. They play really
well up front. They have a lot
more misdirection this year than they had in the past.
A little more shotgun this year and let their quarterback runs around
a little bit. If you focus a
little too much in on Shae as some people have started to do for the right
reasons they can beat you with some other guys,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Sunday evening, “So, we are just going to need to be really
disciplined. We are going to
have to play really physical and usually that is what is comes down to
against Plymouth. Can you win in
the trenches? Can you play
physical? Can you stop the run
game? So, those are all things
that we are going to have to go through this week.
We have already kind of regrouped and we are focused because it is a
big one for us.”
Published 10/18/21
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South
Central Has to Compete up Front
South Central is at home for Western Reserve in a Firelands
Conference game on Friday in a game very important to their fleeting
postseason hopes.
They have to win to have a chance to make the playoffs.
Last week, they fell (34-20) to Mapleton in a conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were not up to the challenge on
either side of the ball. “It
was 14-14 at the half and we felt we missed a couple of opportunities there
in the first half offensively. In
the second half offensively, we just couldn’t put together drives like we
should have. We gave up a lot of
15, 12 play drives where they are running the ball.
We have them on fourth and eight and we jump offside, it’s fourth
and three and we jump offside again. It
was a lot of the little things and that has been the story in a couple of
our losses. In four out of our
five losses we felt like four or five little things here of there could
completely change the outcome of the game,” he told Swankponsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “But, you have to give some credit to Mapleton.
They have some good athletes. Their
offense is hard to defend. They
kept running the ball right at us and we just weren’t able to stop it
enough in the second half where we really needed to to get the ball back and
try to put together some drives. We
have to get some things cleaned up, especially with another team that likes
to run the football.”
South Central (2-5,0-4) hosts Western Reserve (6-2,3-2) on Friday
night. The Roughriders stopped a
two point conversion late and beat Monroeville (21-20) in a conference game
last week.
Fickiesen says Western has a lot of talented skilled players and they
are very good up front. “Ty
(Stevenson) has done a great job there.
They have been in contention for the conference championship the last
couple of years. A lot of that
is because of their guys up front on both sides.
They are really good in the trenches and in order to win conference
games, that’s what you have to be. They
do have a backup quarterback, but he is playing really well.
He throws the ball pretty well to keep you honest, but he also is big
and powerful and runs the ball pretty well.
The (Logan) Wiegel kid is really shifty and fast.
(Jacob) Jerrett we think in one of the best receivers in the area.
He kind of gets unnoticed at times, but very athletic and makes
difficult catches all of the time,” said Stevenson.
Jude Muenz stared the season as the Roughriders quarterback, but got
hurt in a week four loss to Crestview. He
has played the last two weeks in a limited role at receiver.
Fickiesen says he will impact the game.
“We expect (Jude) Muenz to be on the field.
The kid is a competitor. We
think one of the top players in the area just overall no matter where you
put him. He will obviously be a
factor somewhere it doesn’t really matter.
They are as good as advertised. So,
we are going to have to play really well in all three phases of the game,”
he said.
Published 10/14/21
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South
Central Keeps Fighting
South Central is at Mapleton in Firelands Conference play on Friday
night.
Both schools are hoping to generate a late season run that could land
them in the expanded postseason playoffs.
Last week, South Central roughed up by Crestview (56-13) in a
conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says Crestview got the momentum and it turned
into a lopsided contest. “We
knew they were pretty good in a lot of different parts of the game.
Offensively, we felt like we were able to move the ball.
We got a couple of early touchdowns on the board.
I think our second and third or second and fourth drives.
You get down a score or two and it just feels like you have to make
up all of those points in one or two plays instead of just continuing to
take what they give us. When you
do that, you turn the ball back over to them and they are a really tough
team to stop because their run game is affective.
It was a learning experience for our guys.
We are just hoping we can learn from some of those things and get
better and be able to get back after this week,” he said.
South Central (2-4,0-3) is at Mapleton (1-5,0-3) on Friday night.
Mapleton lost (60-38) to Plymouth last week after leading (30-12)
during the first half.
Fickiesen says the Mounties do some very nice things in their running
game and they have to be disciplined. “We
are watching the film and they are three touchdowns up on Plymouth and we
are thinking how in the world did they lose this one?
There we just some unfortunate turnovers and various things that led
to that, but they are a good football team.
They have got athletes all over the place.
That wing-T gives you problems because it looks like guys are running
all over the place. So, if
you’re not disciplined and you don’t read the keys that we have been
working on for our guys to read, like last year, they put up a lot of points
on us because we stopped reading those keys and guys got free,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It has been the same thing since
week two when we saw Northmor, we have to be able to stop the run a little
bit better than what we have done, so we have been working really hard on
that offensively taking what the just taking what the defense gives us,
moving the ball down the field, and scoring when we get into position.
So, our guys have had good focus this week.
It has been a rough month for them, but their focus is good and we
are looking forward to getting to go play football.”
Fickiesen says up front they have to win the one on one battles that
they have not been winning so far this year.
“We have been talking about that quite a bit the last couple of
weeks. Those one on one matchups
we are not winning. Is that
moving people around? Is that
changing a little bit of scheme? We
have looked at a little bit of both of those.
Putting some guys in some different spots to hopefully give them a
better opportunity. But it comes
down to when you are on the field it is time to be ready to go make a play.
So, the guys we are going to put on the field hopefully are going to
be ready to do that whether that is offense, defense or special teams.
We are going to keep fighting. It’s
one week at a time. When you get
to the end of the season there are a bunch of teams that get into the
playoffs and you never know where you will end up.
We are just going to keep fighting and go out Friday night and give
our best effort and we will see what the results are,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/08/21
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Trojans
Must Contain Crestview Run Game
South Central hosts Firelands Conference co-leader Crestview in a
conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans (2-3,0-2) lost a heartbreaker (47-46) to Monroeville in
“FC” play last Friday. After
scoring late they went for two and were stopped.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says it was a tough loss.
“I am sure it was an exciting game for a lot people that were
there, but as a coach you are just on pins and needles the whole time trying
to make sure you score so you can keep up and try figure out how we can get
a stop on defense. It comes down
to the end and we just didn’t get it done.
There are multiple plays here and there that you just look back and
question all weekend long and I probably will for a long time.
Someone had to win and unfortunately it wasn’t us.
So, we have to get some things corrected and get ready because we
play a pretty good team this week,” said Fickiesen.
Crestview (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, beat Ottawa Hills (35-10) in a
non-conference game on Saturday at Community Stadium in Ashland.
Fickiesen says the Cougars have balance on offense.
“I think it would better to say what’s not good, the list would
be shorter there. They do
everything well. They run the
football really well. They like
that double tight “I” and try to just get a 10 to 15 play drive and hang
on to the ball and then score it at the end.
Conner Morse is unbelievable at running back.
Their guys up front do a really good job of executing the game plan.
They have some really athletic kids on the outside and when they
choose to throw, they go to them and they can make a play at anytime,” he
said.
Fickiesen says Crestview plays a unique defense.
“On defense, they play that new 3-3 stack.
It is pretty difficult to make sure you get all of those guys
blocked. They will play cover
zero behind it and force you to win one on one match ups.
So, there are a lot of different things we are going to have to do
well. It has to start at the
beginning of the week. We have
to get some things corrected from last week.
Hopefully, be able to get better every single day and Friday night we
are ready to go and we can put up a good fight,” said Fickiesen.
Crestview has made some big pass plays, but Fickiesen says they come
from play action off of their run game.
“Their pass game feeds off of their run game.
That is how any good running team is. They
will run the ball at you and then run some play action off of that,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “That is the thing with their
play action, usually it is a big play because they run the ball so much and
more affectively that you dbs feel the need to get up there and get involved
in the run game and they get caught looking in the backfield.
They are not in the zone that they need to be and they hit one over
the top. They live and die
though but the run game. So,
that is what you have top hone in on. Last
week, we weren’t able to stop the run very well, so we have to get that
fixed.”
Published 9/28/21
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South
Central Plays First “FC” Game Against Monroeville
South Central entertains Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game
outside of Greenwich on Friday night.
Their game two weeks ago against Norwalk St. Paul was forfeited and
last week they were to play New London, which is not playing 11-man football
this year.
The Trojans beat Dayton Christian (47-7) in a non-conference game
last week.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they played a lot better in the second
half last week. “We felt like
we didn’t play very good in the first half.
Credit that to a number of things.
They came out and played a little bit differently defensively than we
thought they were going to. They
got the ball to some different guys, so you can credit them in the first
half for that. We just weren’t
really happy with the way we played, but in the second half we came out and
played a lot better and took care of our business on offense, defense and
special teams. First of all,
getting back on the field, we were happy about being able to do that and
then playing a little better in the second half we were happy about that as
well,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (2-2,0-1) hosts Monroeville (2-3,1-1) on Friday night.
The Eagles lost (37-0) to first place Crestview last Friday.
Fickiesen says Monroeville has a lot of playmakers on offense.
“Since we didn’t get to play, I was able to make it to that
Plymouth game and they have some guys that can make plays.
Obviously, Isaac Roeder is one of the best athletes in the league, if
not the area. The (Brandon)
Schuller kid at running back is really good.
The guys that don’t get mentioned very much are the guys up front
and they are physical. They play
that style of Monroeville football that has kind of always been around,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Now, maybe they didn’t
do as much of that last week, but I think that is more of a credit to
Crestview than anything. They
have some kids that can make plays, so we are going to have to be sound in
all three phases of the game if we are going to be able to take care of
them. We have really been honed
in and focused this week, it’s our first conference game, so it’s a big
deal to our kids.”
Roeder is fourth in the conference in rushing and fourth in passing
yards.
Fickiesen says both sides will be playing with a heavy heart after
the passing of Delaney Giles, a high school student who was attending
Monroeville but was also a former South Central student, this week from
injuries suffered in a car accident in July.
“Obviously, with both and the unfortunate passing of Delaney Giles
there has just been so much emotion, I’m sure there has been over there,
and our prayers go out to them, but she was a former student of ours too and
a lot of our kids were really good friends with her.
So, I’m sure both communities are trying to get through that as
well as focus on a football game, which a little bit tough, but hopefully we
are going to be able to get through that,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/24/21
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South
Central Ready to go
After a week off due to COVID, South Central returns to action this
Friday night as they play Dayton Christian in game that will take place at
Worthington Christian, in the Columbus suburbs.
They had seven kids test positive for COVID last week, which
represents more than a quarter of their roster, most were interior linemen,
and they were forced to cancel their Firelands Conference game with Norwalk
St. Paul.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they are eager to play.
“We as coaches and our guys as players all what to play football
that’s why we are here, that’s why we practice and do all of those
things in the off season to get to play games.
When you get one taken away from you, it kind of hurts.
So, we took a couple of days off last week to just let all of the
COVID stuff run its course and get that out of the way hopefully.
We got back after it there at the end of the week.
Our kids kind of felt like we were rejuvenated.
It was almost one of those things coming off a couple of losses that
you almost needed where you lose a game and you start to think we don’t
have many of these left and we better take advantage of everyone that we
get. So, our kids spirits have
been really good. A lot of
energy at the end of last week and (Monday) was a good practice to get the
week started. We were just happy
to be back. We have almost
everyone back and we are happy to be able to play football,” said
Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says the have played some good football at times this year,
they just have to be more consistent. “When
you look at the two teams that we lost to they are 7-1 and the one game that
Stritch lost they didn’t have their best player.
So, we have lost to two pretty good teams and we felt we had
opportunities to beat both of them, we just have to get a little more
consistent. That is what I have
been trying to preach and our coaching staff has been trying to preach all
season long. Offensively,
defensively, special teams, you are going to beat good teams if you are
consistent. If you have some
lapses here and there on offense or defense or special teams, those good
teams will take advantage of it and that’s what happened to us, but you
get those things out of the way early in the season, so when you get to this
time of the year hopefully you are honing in on some of those things and you
are getting better every week and get more consistent every week as we start
to get into some league play and you are getting closer to trying to make
that top 16,” said Fickiesen.
Dayton Christian (0-4) lost last week to Cincinnati Hughes (56-19)
and have allowed at least 46 points in three of their four games.
Fickiesen says it is difficult to know much about Dayton Christian,
but they do know they will try and feature a vertical passing game.
“I don’t know a lot. Obviously,
we got some film on them that we have been watching.
They have got some athletes. They
have a couple of kids that look the part.
They look like solid football players and it’s kind of hard to tell
when you play a team form a completely different side of the state and all
of the teams they are playing you are just not quite sure how good everyone
is. What we do know is we
can’t give up the deep ball. They
like to try and throw the ball deep every once in while to their playmakers.
We just can’t give up big plays,” he told Swankonsports.com
Monday evening, “We have really honed with those couple of days off and
getting back to the basics and fundamentals, we think that is what is going
to win or lose this football game. It
comes down to blocking and tackling. That
is what my defensive coordinator, coach Cook is saying, this one is coming
down to blocking and tackling. Whoever
can do that the best is going to win the game and that’s football.
So, that’s what we have been working on and hopefully Friday night,
we will block better and tackle better.”
Published 9/14/21
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South
Central has to Contain
South Central is at home to host Cardinal Stritch in a non-conference
football game on Friday night.
The Trojans (1-1) lost (37-20) to Northmor last week on the road.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were right there entering the fourth
quarter, but couldn’t make the big plays.
“We felt like we just kind of got wore down.
They are big and physical and that run game just kind of beat on us
throughout the course of the four quarters it took its toll.
That is a little bit on us as coaches.
We have discussed maybe rotating guys a little bit more whatever that
might be we just have to find a way to keep our guys fresher throughout all
four quarters. You have to give
a lot of credit to Northmor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
afternoon, “They are a really good football team with a lot of good
players. The score was 23-20 and
we had the ball going into the fourth quarter with some momentum and we just
couldn’t put it in the end zone. If
we could get a possession back, that is the one I would like to have back.
Like I told our guys on Saturday morning we have got to turn the page
and head on to week three.”
The Trojans allowed 323 yards on the ground last week.
Cardinal Stritch (1-1) lost (42-0) to Delta last week after picking
up a (40-20) win over Fremont St. Joe in their opener.
Fickiesen says they have big play potential.
“They are very athletic. Their
quarterback is probably one the best athletes we will see all year.
He can do a little bit of everything.
He can run the football, but he will scramble and look like he is
about to make a play and then toss it down the field.
He has a big arm and some really good receivers around him.
We are going to have to stay disciplined.
We are going to have to try and contain him and keep their speed
inside the hashes and not let them get loose, that’s the big thing,” he
said.
Fickiesen says on Friday night they have to have a short memory
because the Cardinals are going to make plays.
“We have talked about that from week to week.
You can’t let one week affect another week.
You can’t let one play affect your next play.
Whatever happened in the past you can’t change it.
You have to be ready to do the next one.
That is what we have talked about the last couple of weeks and we are
preaching this week that we have go to have a good practice this week to get
things back on track and back where we want to be.
We feel good about it, the energy level (Monday) was high and so far
(Tuesday) they are out there lifting and the energy level seems pretty high.
We are going to get ready and have another opportunity to play football on
Friday night and we are excited about it,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/01/21
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South
Central Has to Compete in the Trenches
South Central, of the Firelands Conference, plays at Northmor, of the
Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, in a non-conference football game on Friday
night.
The Trojans are coming off a (41-15) win over Willard last week.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were solid in an all aspects of the
game. “We felt like we
executed in all three phases of the game, special team were a key factor.
With the shortened preseason and whatnot we kind of thought that
would happen, so we put a little extra focus on it.
Our kids went out and executed the game plan like we wanted, so you
can’t ask for much more than that,” he said.
Quarterback Brandon Mitchell tossed three TD for the Trojans against
Willard.
Northmor topped Seneca East (27-23) in what was a very good
performance week two for the Golden Knights.
Fickiesen knows this will be a tremendous challenge for them, but it
is one that is going to make them better.
“It’s a huge challenge. They
just beat a pretty good Seneca East team with a goal line stand, actually
back to back goal line stands. They
present a lot of problems for you, but a good thing is they are very similar
to our conference, so that is why we thought that would be a good non-league
game to play to get us ready for conference,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday, “They are physical up front, they have a really good quarterback
and a really good running back, both who are overly athletic, so we are
going to have to tackle really well. When
we are on offense, we have to possess the ball.
We don’t want them to have it.”
Running back Max Lower scored four times for the Golden Knights last
week.
In order to compete with Northmor, Fickiesen says they must be able
to hold their own in trenches. “They
are very similar to a Firelands Conference team in that they are very
physical. They have five solid
guys on offense and their interior seven on defense are all very solid.
We are going to have to come ready to be physical or it is going to
get out of hand. Our guys have
worked hard all week and we are excited to just get the opportunity to go
down there and face a good ballclub,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/27/21
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South
Central Has to Run it too
South Central kicks off the football season on Friday night at home
against the neighboring Willard Flashes in non-conference play.
The Trojans are looking for their third win in as many tries against
Willard after wins in both 2018 and 2019.
They did not play last year due to COVID.
Coach Corey Fickiesen feels they had a pretty good preseason, but it
is different when you play for real. “It
is always tough to tell when you are coming off your scrimmages if you are
game ready or not and I am sure most people would feel that way.
You are probably not going to know until that first whistle blows and
things get started Friday night because you are going to have a bunch of new
kids playing some different positions. So,
it’s a little different than the scrimmages versus when it’s real under
the lights. We have a pretty
feel about our kids and where they are at.
We are hoping they just come out with some confidence and play hard
on Friday night,” he said.
South Central, a winner of three of its last four last year, returns
a lot of their skilled players and should be able to make some plays, but
Fickiesen says they have to be better at the point of attack.
“We return our skilled guys or the skilled guys that had to play a
lot last year. We return our
running back, quarterback, receivers, so you would think putting the ball in
the air, but we have been working really hard on our run game and our run
defense because we know that is what we are going to have to do in order to
win the games we have scheduled. Those
things are kind of a mystery until you get out there on Friday nights, but
we think if we can put some of the things together we have seen in practice.
We are going to try and be balanced as much as we possibly can.
We are going to try and stop the run on defense.
All of those things that you always preach.
Consistency is the big thing right now for us.
We are just trying to get better every day and be more consistent,”
said Fickiesen.
Willard, (0-11) last year, has a new coach and some petty good
athletes.
Fickiesen says they have to contain that athleticism that Flashes
possess this year. “They have
a new coach. Coach (Bill)
Speller is doing a great job over there in watching both of their scrimmages
we are seeing a lot of really good things from them.
They have a lot of good athletes.
The Paxton kid at receiver is really good.
They return their 1,000 yard running back in Dario Lopez.
Their quarterback, the Weiss kid, is a really, really good athlete.
Then they sprinkle in a lot of other kids that people probably
don’t know a lot about yet that we know are going to be good, both
Robinson kids, there is a handful of them,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday, “They have a lot of guys that can hurt you in a lot of different
ways. So, our goal is to just
limit their touches as much as possible.
When you turn around and we are on offense and they are on defense
just be us and try and attack them and take shots when you can.
Just play solid, fundamental both offensively and defensively and try
and limit turnovers and take the ball away.
It is going to be a challenge and we know that, so we are going to
have to get ready this week to go play a tough opponent on Friday.”
Published 8/17/21
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South
Central Coming Together
South Central won three of its last four games last year, including a
playoff game, and they are busy preparing for the 2021 season, which begins
August 20 at home against Willard.
Bye the way, their game this season with New London will not be
played because the Wildcats don’t have enough players to field and 11 man
team.
Trojans coach Corey Fickiesen says this preseason has gotten off to a
strong start. “We are
approaching the beginning of the season a lot faster than usual, but we were
able to get in some good work over the summer, try and get together a little
bit, and get ready for practice, so this week has kind of been some review
and making sure we are crisp. I
would say at this time of year everybody would say they are not ready to
play a game quite yet and we are in that same situation, but we are getting
closer. Our first day was in
shells for most of our kids. It
was the first time I have had a first day practice where we could go good on
good, offense versus defense, and it looks pretty good.
So, we were excited by that, but there is still a lot of work to do
for us,” said Fickiesen.
This season numbers are down a little with the Trojans, but Fickiesen
says they are excited to get back on the field and show what they can do.
“Our kids have been excited. Our
numbers are a little lower than expected, but our sophomore and freshmen
classes are a little bit lower. Our
kids are excited to be coming off last year.
Expectations are probably a little lower what we want, which okay
with us. It just means you have
to work a little harder and our kids have had that this summer, kind of had
a little edge, which is a good thing. We
need to kind of get back to that and be humbled a little bit.
Our kids have been working hard, we are excited about their work
ethic. We are ready for a
scrimmage Saturday, which will show us exactly where we are at,” he said.
Fickiesen says it has been a much better summer for them than it was
last year due to the fact that they were able to do a lot more team bonding
kinds of things. “When you
come off a couple decent years, which we had, and feel like, okay, let’s
make the next step, but we didn’t put in the kind of work that was needed
and that was for various reasons. Last
year, for everyone it was kind of messed up, but this year getting the
opportunity to have a full summer and have the opportunity to do a lot of
things we weren’t able to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday,
“Our team camps, our overnight camps, our get togethers, all of the
different stuff has been a really cool thing.
That is what I love so much about the sport is the relationships and
the bonds that you build and last year it just felt like we were unable to
do that and it was not a good thing for us and for everyone.
This year I have really enjoyed getting back to that kind of stuff,
so that has been exciting.”
Published 8/05/21
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Snyder
Leads Mohawk Past South Central
Landen Snyder threw a complete game five hit shutout and Mohawk
trimmed South Central (1-0) in a division IV district semifinal played on
Wednesday evening in Galion.
They will play Arlington, who beat Plymouth (4-2) in the nightcap, in
the district title game at Galion on Friday evening.
Snyder had no walks and three strikeouts.
Coach Eric Hoover said he was a strike throwing machine.
“He had a great outing. He
was very efficient. I think he
ended with just over 50 pitches, 53 is where we had him.
49 would have been great because then he could have come back Friday.
There is no chance of messing around with it.
He kept the ball low. The
top of their order is really good. He
did a good job of not giving them anything to hit and really hurt us,”
said Hoover.
South Central advanced only two players as far as second base on the
day and Mohawk was able to double one of them off and Snyder got a strikeout
for the third out.
Trojans coach Mike Perry says they could not get into any kind or
rhythm. “I think the struggles
were he kept us off balance. He
didn’t throw a lot of curveballs, but he spotted his fastball well and
mixed it up a little bit and he kept us off stride.
That’s what good pitchers do,” he said.
The only run came in the bottom of the fifth when Troy Russell
reached on an error and pinch runner Reese Hannam scored on Snyder’s two
out double to deep left center.
Hoover says it was a great way for Snyder to get out of a slump.
“He hasn’t been hitting great.
A matter of fact in our last tournament game, he didn’t even bat.
I thought he has had a couple of good practices and we got him back
in there. He came up with the
hit and one that turned out to be a good situation.
It was a full count, so we could start the runner,” he said.
Karl Ferber was also terrific for the Trojans.
He gave up only the one unearned run on two hits.
He stuck out six and walked none.
Hoover says he kept them off balance.
“Ferber was outstanding also. I
know he was good coming in. He
is just an outstanding all around baseball player.
He did a great job of mixing up his pitches and keeping us off
balance. We struggled to get
baserunners. I don’t know how
many we had, but we didn’t have many.
Not even very many hard hit balls.
He pitched an outstanding game as well,” said Hoover.
A key play in the game came in the top of the fourth when the game
was still scoreless. South
Central had runners at second and third with nobody out, when Mohawk right
fielder Bryce Hannam caught a hard hit ball by Blaine Wheeler and doubled
Carson Music off second base.
Hoover says defense has been their strength all season and it paid
off again on Wednesday. “We
have had to field the ball to win all year because we haven’t scored a lot
of runs. We have a lot of guys
that are very versatile that can move around and play different positions
and are confident in what we are doing.
Xavier (Oesch) and Nathan (Geary) did a great job up the middle.
Bryce turned that one in the outfield just being aware,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “He got a great jump on the ball and a
great read on it and made a good play on a hard hit ball to turn that double
play. We count on our defense to
get a lot done for us. We
don’t strike many guys out either. So,
they are having to make plays all of the time to get out of the inning and
they did a really great job.”
Perry accepted the blame on the play.
“That was a game changer right there.
The kid made a heck of a play and it happens.
I didn’t get a good look at it and neither did Carson (Music) at
second base. That is on me for
not getting my guy back to third to tag.
I’ll take that, I’ll own that because that was just me not really
doing what I was supposed to do,” he said.
Published 5/27/21
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South
Central Edges Buckeye Central
South Central won a division IV sectional title on Thursday evening
as they got past Buckeye Central (2-1) to earn a ticket to the district
tournament.
They will play Mohawk in next Wednesday’s district semifinal at
Galion. The Warriors beat Carey
(2-1) in nine innings on Thursday.
They only had six hits in the game, but coach Mike Perry says they
had one more run and that’s all that matters.
“Survive and advance and that is what I told them after the game.
I said we had one more run that they did and that’s all I care
about. Do that seven more times
and that would be just fine with me,” he said.
Buckeye Central threw their top two pitchers in Tuesday’s semifinal
win (5-4) over Hardin-Northern. So,
they thew their number three Thursday in Clay Green.
Perry says they had their problems getting in any kind of rhythm
against Green. “The funny
thing is, we are a team that has struggled more with the medium to slow
stuff. We can hit anything fast.
The faster the better for us. It
is when they throw the slower guys against us that we struggle and press.
(Thursday) we were out of sorts a little in the batter’s box,” he
told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We did what we had to do.
Karl Ferber hit a home run is his third straight game and he is
getting hot at the right time. He
is one of the best players in the state.
He is unbelievable.”
Ferber hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second to give the
Trojans a (1-0) lead and they added another in the third when Jackson
McCormack scored after the Bucks misplayed a single off the bat of Shane
Vanderpool.
Ferber started and went the distance of the Trojans allowing just the
one run on 10 hits. He struck
out six.
Perry says he got a big play from his catcher.
“Our junior catcher Caden Hauler made huge play.
They had first and second and they were trying to bunt the runners
over I believe it was in the sixth and he threw a strike to second to back
pick the kid that wondered too far. That
kind of turned all of the momentum there.
Caden Hauler really had a tremendous game and that kid is really
coming up big when we need him,” said Perry.
Published 5/21/21
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South
Central Stays Alive
South Central scored eight times in the first two innings and handed
Norwalk St. Paul their first Firelands Conference loss (10-4) on Tuesday to
close within two games of Flyers in the conference title race.
Each team has three conference games remaining.
Plymouth shares first in the conference with St. Paul.
Each has one loss in Firelands Conference play.
David Lamoreaux had a two run single and another Trojans run scored
on a ground ball for a (3-0) in the top the first.
The added five more in the second.
Sam Seidel walked, stole second and scored on a single by Karl Ferber.
Carson Music and Blaine Wheeler singled, scoring Ferber.
Two more scored on an outfield error and Kayden Hauler plated the
final run of the inning on a single. It
was (8-0) Trojans.
“The kids really came out to play.
It was just the second time this year that we didn’t make an error
in the field. Karl Ferber was
fantastic on the mound. We hit
the ball we put the pressure on them. We
got up on them early and just kept the pressure on them,” said South
Central coach Mike Perry.
St. Paul would load the bases in the second and third, but score only
two runs and Ferber got out of jams. He
allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out three in going all seven to
get the win.
Perry thought the start to the game was key.
“I think that kind of let the kids know.
I told them before the game there are games you want to win, there
are games you hope to win, but I said this is a game that I expect to win
because this is out fourth win in a row, we are playing very good baseball.
Don’t get more wrong, St. Paul is a fantastic team, well coached.
They made some uncharacteristic mistakes (Tuesday) night.
We knew our backs were against the wall and I expected to go out
there and play well and the boys responded,” said Perry.
St. Paul coach Aaron Fries says they made too many errors and
didn’t take advantage of their chance to score.
“The difference in game came down to defense.
We did not make the plays when the opportunities presented themselves
and conversely South Central made great defensive plays when we were
threatening,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We had five
errors in the game and a few other plays there were not errors, but could
have been made. South Central
beat us at our own game, pitching and defense.
Give South Central a lot of credit, they handled tough playing
conditions well. They played
championship baseball.”
It was a wet day in which a lot of games were cancelled.
Perry says Ferber was able to maintain his focus.
“I think it was the third inning and he kind of struggled a little
bit because the ball was wet and I kept saying throw strikes, throw strikes.
He came out after and said, coach, you don’t have to tell me that,
I know what to do. I didn’t
say anything to him the rest of the game he is just a fun kid.
He has a lot of confidence and a lot of ability,” said Perry.
South Central (10-8,8-3) is scheduled to play at home against St.
Paul (16-5,10-1) on Wednesday and Perry says that game is just as important.
“We are going to see (Scotty) Adelman.
He’s a great pitcher. We
know we have our work cut out for us, but we want to be that team that plays
well at the end of the season and that’s what we are doing we are playing
well and giving ourselves a chance at the conference and looking forward
towards the tournament. I like
where we are sitting right now,” he said.
Published 5/05/21
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South
Central Holds Off Western
South Central took the lead with a four spot in the fourth inning and
went on to get past Western Reserve (7-6) in a Firelands Conference baseball
game on Wednesday evening.
They stay three games behind conference leading Norwalk St. Paul, who
beat Mapleton (4-3) on Wednesday. The
Trojans (9-8,7-3) play St. Paul next week in what are going to be two
crucial conference games and then end the conference schedule against last
place Monroeville.
Coach Mike Perry says his team got a couple of big hits from
unexpected sources on Wednesday. “We
had a really big hit from our freshman second baseman Eric Sanders and
another big hit by Jackson McCormack, a senior who struggled at first, but
he has really, really come on strong lately.
It was a couple of really good at bats by those kids and we were able
to push a couple of runs across,” said Perry.
Perry adds when you get big plays like that it gets the team fired
up. “It pumps the whole team
up and everyone gets behind them. They
are the kind of kids that everybody roots for.
We have a pretty tight team and it’s nice to see them pull for each
other,” he said.
McCormack and Carson Music both had two hits for the Trojans on
Wednesday. Sam Seidel had a
triple, he leads the conference in that offensive category, and an RBI and
Karl Ferber added a double and an RBI.
Blane Wheeler got the start for the Trojans and set six innings to
get the win, allowing five runs on five hits, walking four and fanning six.
Sanders pitched the seventh to get the save, allowing an unearned
run.
The postseason tournament begins in just over two weeks and Perry
believes they can make some noise this year in division IV.
“At the beginning of the season we were so top heavy with our
lineup. Now we are getting
contributions one through nine. If
we can keep that going, we will be in really, really good shape when the
tournament rolls around,” Perry told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night.
Published 4/29/21
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South
Central Stays Close
South Central scored two runs over the final two innings to rally and
beat Plymouth (4-3) Tuesday in Firelands Conference action.
The win keeps the Trojans (6-8,4-2) two games back of Norwalk St.
Paul in conference standings. Plymouth
(7-5,5-1) is now a game back after losing their first conference game.
Plymouth had won (9-8) at their place on Monday and South Central
coach Mike Perry feels that Tuesday was huge for them.
“That’s what I told them going into it.
We weren’t able to get the job done the night before.
I explained to them that this is the game we need if we have any hope
to compete in this conference,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday,
“We came out and looked like we did the night before.
We threw the ball around a couple of times, had a couple of unearned
runs and went down 3-0 and then my freshman second basemen in about the
fourth inning tweaked his knee and he had to come out of the game and we had
to put some subs in there and it seemed like the adversity got the boys
going. After that we had better
at bats and Carl Ferber on the mound was just untouchable in the last three
or four innings.”
Trailing (3-2) headed to the bottom of the sixth, Carson Music led
off the inning with a triple and scored on an sacrifice fly by David
Lamoreaux. Then in the seventh,
Karl Ferber drove in the winning run with an infield single.
Perry says the players circled the wagons when behind and did a very
good job of battling adversity. “It
was a wakeup call. I mean Eric
Sanders, he is only a freshman, but he is a very, very important part of
both our offense and defense. He
is a kid that I ask a lot of things and he even pitches a little.
When you see him come off the field it kind of jolted everyone and
everyone came together and things turned around from that point,” he said.
Ferber went the distance and gave up three runs, one earned, on three
hits, striking out nine.
Perry says he had good stuff and was mentally strong in what was a
very good effort. “That was
the great thing (Tuesday). He
had a couple of errors behind him in the same inning.
There was a check swing call that didn’t go his way.
Instead of worrying about it, he just wanted the ball back and the
next pitch he took care of it himself. He
retired the last 11 guys and I don’t think he went to three balls on
anyone. He was throwing harder
than I have seen him in a long time and his curveball was incredible,”
said Perry.
Published 4/22/21
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South
Central Beats Mapleton; Stays in FC Race
Blane Wheeler picked up the win on the mound and added two hits and
three RBI leading South Central to an (8-6) win over Mapleton in Firelands
Conference action on Thursday evening.
The Trojans (5-6,3-1) trail Norwalk St. Paul and Plymouth by a game
in the conference standings.
Coach Mike Perry says this was a big win for his team.
“It was very critical to get the win (Thursday) night, so we could
kind of hold serve. Mapleton is
a very talented team, they hit the ball well.
We knew we would have our work cut out for us after getting down big
and coming back and taking the lead (Wednesday) and then losing it at the
end. It was important in a lot
of ways for us to win this one,” said Perry.
Mapleton had won (12-11) in eight innings at their place on
Wednesday.
Perry says his team was determined on Thursday.
“They definitely came to play, they were focused from the very
beginning. We gave up a couple
of runs in the first inning, but I don’t think they ever questioned they
were going to win this game,” he said.
The Trojans trailed (4-1) after two and half innings, but got three
in the third to tie it and tacked on four more in the fourth.
Karl Ferber also had two hits and three RBI for the Trojans.
South Central plays Wellington and non-league game on Friday.
Perry says it should be a lot of fun.
“The funny thing is the coach at Wellington is a friend of mine.
They are a Lorain County team and I live in Lorain County.
I am really looking forward to it.
I coach a couple of Wellington kids on my summer team.
So, it is going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
Then next week, the Trojans play Plymouth and Crestview in two home
and home conference series.
Perry says he is looking forward to it and believes his team in
playing well right now. “Next
week with four conference games it is going to be important for us to come
to play. To tell the truth with
the way we have been pitching the ball and getting some quality at bats all
of the way through the lineup I am really liking where we are sitting right
now,” said Perry.
Published 4/16/21
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South
Central off to A Solid Start
South Central has won four of its first six games this season and
shares the lead in the Firelands Conference.
They beat New London (10-0) and (19-7) in conference games on Monday
and Tuesday. They are in an
early tie for first place in the conference with Norwalk St. Paul and
Plymouth, who also swept their opening two games this week in conference
play.
Mike Perry is in his first year as the Trojans head coach and he says
they are starting to swing the bats pretty well after a slow start.
“I think it has been our bats and our approach at the plate.
When we started out early with our non conference stuff we were
pressing really bad and swinging at bad pitches, but they have really
settled things down in the batter’s box, making better decisions and
actually having a game plan when they are stepping up there to the plate,”
said Perry.
Perry says when you are new coach a lot of what you during the
preseason and early in the regular season is get to know the kids and vise
versa they get to know you. “With
this being my first year here they had to get to know me.
I had to get to know them. Karl
Ferber, my sophomore third basemen, first basemen, I was lucky enough to
coach him in fall ball and travel, but a lot of these kids didn’t know me
walking through the door, so it took a little time for us to get used to
each other,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I think one
the big challenges they face getting back into high school mode is you are
representing your school and that is important to me and they had to figure
out my value system and how important it is for them to wear that uniform
with pride because that’s what I’m all about them being proud of their
school and representing it the right way.”
South Central will host Norwayne of the Wayne County Athletic League
in a non-conference game Friday, weather permitting.
They return to Firelands Conference action on Monday and Tuesday
against Mapleton.
Junior Sam Seidel has already committed to Bowling Green and his off
to a great start this season.
Perry says he is focused on improving as a player and that shows.
“Sam is a fantastic player, he never seems to have a bad at bat.
He never gives anything away on the field.
If you get him out, he makes you earn it.
He is always looking to get better.
When your best players are your hardest workers you know you are in
pretty good shape. No one is
going to work harder at getting better at the game of baseball,” he said.
Published 4/09/21
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Lucas
Grinds Out Win over South Central
Lucas made 10 of its last 11 free throws and held South Central
scoreless over the last 5:46 and beat the Trojans (34-26) in a division IV
district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
They will play Norwalk St. Paul, a (61-55) winner over Margaretta,
for the district title on Friday night at Willard.
Lucas (18-7) missed eight of its first 12 free throws, but coach
Taylor Iceman says they were money when it counted the most.
“We made the important ones. Early
we weren’t very good from the free throw line and it about cost us.
Luckily, we had seniors and experienced guys stepping to the line at
the end. “Goose” made a
bunch of free throws at the end of the game that were important.
I’m a defensive guy, but that was ugly.
You do what you have to do to win at this point in the season and
that is what (Tuesday) night called for and that was the way the game was
and luckily that was our style and we’ll take it,” he said.
Points were at premium all night.
South Central (16-7) made only one hoop in the first quarter and
trailed (6-2) after one. It was
(12-6) Lucas at the intermission. Things
got more interesting in the second half when both teams started to make some
shots.
South Central cut their deficit to only a basket at (16-14) with 3:06
to play in the third quarter after back to back threes by Jackson McCormack
and Kayden Hauler. The tied the
game for the first time (16-16) when Isaac Blair scored with 2:41 to play in
the quarter. Ethan Sauder cashed
in on two free throws and Corbin Tombs scored a goal to give the Cubs a
(20-16) lead with :58 seconds to play. Sam
Seidel’s three with 40 ticks left in the quarter made (20-19) Lucas at the
end of three.
David Lamoreaux’s field goal with 7:35 left gave South Central
their first lead (21-20) of the game. Lucas
tied it on a Lane Harper field goal with 6:46 left and retook the lead
(24-23) on Sauder’s three with 6:05 to play in the game.
Blaine Wheeler put the Trojans back in front (26-24) with a corner
three with 5:46 left, but they would not score again.
Coach Brett Seidel says they had some problems handling the Cubs
physicality. “I thought we got
the ball to the front of the rim several times and we weren’t able to
finish though their contact. Their
physicality affected our shots in the interior.
We made some shots from three there in the second half and got a
little momentum. Got the ball
with the lead several times and probably took some ill advised shots there,
probably could have been a little more patient there.
I want my kids to play and make plays.
They made free throws down the stretch,” said Seidel.
It was clearly a game which the Cubs were very methodical with the
ball, which was a surprise to Seidel. “They
held it the whole game. I
thought they were way more deliberate than I expected. I
thought our kids guarded those long possessions fairly well.
We let a couple of box touches and we let some extra shot
opportunities get the best of us. I
am not going to fault my kids. I
think they worked really hard, but again we did not finish at the front of
the rim through contact,” he said.
Being so patient with the ball was not the game plan according to
Iceman, he says it was a rection to the kind of defense South Central was
playing. “Actually, I had seen
on film that St. Paul had had some success kind of getting out and speeding
up the game a little bit. The
way they were defending us packing it in so we couldn’t penetrate and
attack the rim. I just told the
kids you have to be patient and move the ball and make the defense work so
we can get a good look and not rush into something.
That was not necessarily the game plan, but that was the way things
went. We were playing really
good defense and we just kind of possessed the ball and tried to get good
looks,” said Iceman.
There were no double figure scorers in the game.
Sauder, who scored his 1,000th career point in the first
half, led all scorers with nine markers.
Lamoreaux led South Central with six, but was only 3-14 from the
field. Iceman says they were
successful in forcing him farther away from the basket where he got the ball
in some uncomfortable spots. “I
tell my kids with David and big kids and general because nobody is smaller
than us. We are just not very
big. We have to keep guys away
from the basket, away from the ball, so they can’t get that low position,
so when the ball comes they are right there were they can do something,”
he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Our guys did a great job of
keeping pressure on him and getting him away from the basket, so when he got
it he was just a little further out than he is used to and than he is
comfortable with. Unfortunately,
I think David just didn’t have a real great game himself.
He is a tremendous player. He
is a great kid, I feel for him. Somebody
had to lose and I’m happy we came out on top.”
Perhaps a result of Lamoreaux not being as much of a factor as he
normally is on offense, it appeared some of the other Trojans were
tentative. Iceman says they
wanted those guards to prove they could make the perimeter shots.
“Coming into it, David is their guy and we kind of said we are
going to take him away. If you
do that, they put shooters on the floor.
We kind of put the pressure on David to find those shooters and have
those guys knock down shots and luckily for us they weren’t making shots.
There was a little stretch there in the third quarter were they were
making shots, but for the most part we did a good job of closing back
out,” he said.
Published 3/03/21
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South
Central Clashes With Lucas
South Central locks horns with Lucas in a division IV district
semifinal at Willard High School on Tuesday night.
The winner plays either Norwalk St. Paul or Margaretta for a district
title on Friday night, again at Willard.
The Trojans (16-6) beat Buckeye Central (63-36) last Friday to earn a
sectional title.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played with the kid of effort required
in a tournament game. “I
thought we played hard from the start. In
a game like that you kind of want to start fast and start well and I thought
our kids came out with pretty good effort and execution in the first
quarter,” said Seidel.
South Central led (16-0) after the first quarter.
Lucas beat the Trojans (46-43) in overtime in the district final last
year and South Central won (40-35) in regular season game back on December
19.
So, you would think points are going to be at a premium.
“From last year’s district and we played earlier in the year.
Obviously, a very good team,” said Seidel.
He says the Cubs are a physical team that really guards well.
“They are well coached. What
I see first and foremost is they are well coached.
They are physical, they play really good defense.
Everybody is contributing. They
are just hard to guard, hard to matchup with, just well coached and
physical,” added Seidel.
It is going to be a war on the floor and Seidel says they are going
to have to go after loose balls and get the possessions. “Ball
tough and ball pursuit. The
first one to get two hands on it, that is kind of the going rate.
Get more second shot opportunities on the offensive and defensive
glass, just ball pursuit with two hands,” he said.
There probably aren’t going to be a lot of open shots in the game
and Seidel says they have to make some contested looks.
“Talking care of the basketball.
It is a simple game of putting the ball in the hoop,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I think you have to make some
shots. You have to make some
jump shots. I think the team
that does that is going to win the basketball game.”
Published 3/02/21
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Get all of the tournament scores right here
South
Central Opens with Buckeye Central
South Central, the number one seed in district, opens up tournament
play on Friday night by hosting Buckeye Central in a division IV sectional
final.
The Trojans (15-6) finished in a share of second place in the
Firelands Conference this season.
The winner of Friday night’s game will meet either Lucas or
Sandusky St. Mary’s in the district semifinal next week at Willard High
School.
Coach Brett Seidel says the tournament brings a different kind of
pressure to all teams. “It is
different for everyone. It
doesn’t matter if you are a top seed or a bottom seed.
You know your season could be over and that adds pressure because you
are really not ready for it to be over.
I think everybody approaches the second season as what it is,
everybody starts 0-0,” he said.
Buckeye Central (10-13) edged Mansfield Christian (60-58) in triple
overtime in semifinal game played Tuesday at “the Furnace” in Mansfield.
Seidel says the Bucks have some players that can play the game.
“They are very well coached. I
am very familiar with coach Tom Howell and they are always well coached,
well drilled and fundamental. He
always does things the right way. They
have a big kid that is really good, a good point guard, and some good wings
around them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The
(Alex) Kanney kid can really shoot it. The
(Brady) Kerschner kid is really good on the inside and Tyler Rose is good at
the point. Then they have got
some nice pieces with the (Damian) Dean and the (Tyler) Sanderson kids
around them.”
Seidel says in the tournament you really have to value the basketball
if you are going to have success. “It
is tournament and every possession matters, so we are going to start off
with the first possession being he most meaningful and kind of go from
there,” he said.
Published 2/25/21
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Get all of the tournament scores right here
Decision
Making a Key for South Central
Lately, South Central has been coming up on the short end of some
close games and they have to do something to reverse that trend.
They lost to Norwalk St. Paul (48-46) in a Firelands Conference game
on Thursday and Bellevue (52-51) in a non-conference game on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says it came down to literally one play.
“It was a tough week for the Trojans, that’s for sure, but early
on in the year we were fortunate to win some of those close games.
Three of our last four we have lost by three, two and one.
So, I can’t really complain, the kids are playing hard.
They just made one more play than us each of those nights,” he
said.
Seidel says to start winning those kinds of games again, they must
make better decisions when it comes to shots in the final minutes.
“We have to take care of the basketball down the stretch, make free
throws down the stretch, and our shot selection down the stretch, just
hasn’t been great. Even with
the lead in a couple of those games we had some ill advised shots taken,
which led to points at the other end for them.
We have to be a little more cautious in our shot selection when we
have the lead going down the stretch,” said Seidel.
South Central visits Norwalk (13-7) on Wednesday night to face the
Truckers, the leaders in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
Seidel says the Truckers believe in themselves.
“They are obviously well coached and it’s a program, a tradition,
and a culture that has been built since Gray got there and their state
championship run. They still
have that kind of identity to them,” he told Swanksports.com on Tuesday
morning, “They play extremely physical defense, they play really hard,
that have a really good post in Chapin, a really good shooter on the outside
in Gehlhausen, and they have some pieces that are coming along with them.
They have improved drastically since the start of the season.”
South Central (14-5,9-4) hosts Monroeville (12-8,7-6) on Friday night
in Firelands Conference action. The
Eagles beat Mapleton (64-51) in a conference game on Saturday night.
They have won six of their last seven.
South Central won the first meeting at Monroeville (64-50) on January
8.
Seidel calls them improved. “They
shoot the basketball very well. Obviously,
Roeder is a load, it’s hard to stop him one on one, really hard to stop
him when you throw two at him. Now,
with the kids around him making shots it makes it even more difficult,” he
said.
Published 2/17/21
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South
Central Clashes With St. Paul
South Central travels to Norwalk St. Paul on Thursday night as the
Trojans attempt to protect second place in the Firelands Conference.
Last Friday, Western Reserve clinched the outright conference title
by edging the Trojans (56-53) in a game that was just as close as that score
indicates.
Coach Brett Seidel says his team had a chance to get some separation
at the end of the third quarter but failed to take advantage.
“We had a stretch there at the end of the third quarter where we
had the momentum. We were on an
11-0 run, up six points, with the ball, with 50 seconds to go.
We take a shot that we shouldn’t have and it turned into them on a
6-0 run and them with the momentum heading into the fourth,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We still had our chances in the fourth and
some turnovers and some missed free throws, but credit Western Reserve for
closing out a close game.”
South Central (14-3,9-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’
basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at St. Paul
(11-5,8-4) on Thursday night. The
Flyers rattled Mapleton (75-46) in a conference game last Friday and then
beat a solid Huron team (71-55) in a non-league game on Saturday.
They also beat South Central in the first meeting in Greenwich
(57-48) on January 9.
Seidel says the Flyers are playing well right now.
“They play a really good schedule.
They had a really good win against Huron on Saturday night.
I have already watched that on film and they were very impressive on
Saturday night. They were
relentless at both ends of the floor playing with a lot of speed and a lot
of emotion at both ends,” he said.
A South Central win would clinch second place in the league and
Seidel says give them some needed momentum too.
“Everybody is trying to get on the right track, get things headed
in the right direction, get some momentum going, everybody is trying to do
that. They pose a very big
problem with the three seniors that they have that have tremendous
experience in games like these and the tournament.
It is going to be tough to stop them at home,” said Seidel.
Published 2/09/21
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Saturday
South
Central With a Chance to Move Closer to Western
If South Central entertains any thoughts of winning a piece of the
Firelands Conference title, something they shared last season, they must win
at home Friday night against first place Western Reserve.
They trail the Roughriders by two games in the conference standings
with three to play.
They beat a solid, and improving, Crestview team (60-56) in overtime
last Friday, the second time they have beaten the Cougars in overtime this
year.
Coach Brett Seidel says they kept fighting.
“I thought we were really, really resilient.
I thought we could have really folded the tents when they took an
eight-point lead there in the third. Called
time out and challenged the kids and they responded and played hard.
We made just enough plays down the stretch.
We were very fortunate to get out of there with a win,” he said.
The Trojans have won their last six games and Seidel says the players
are more comfortable with their roles. “I
think the kids have made progress in all areas.
I think defensively we have progressed with on ball and help defense.
I think all of the kids have gotten better individually and
collectively defensively. We
have also kind of bought in to our roles.
We have been okay with our roles.
I think that is a big piece of the progress,” said Seidel.
South Central (13-2,9-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’
basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at home for Western
Reserve (13-1,11-0), #2 in that poll, on Friday night.
Western outlasted Norwalk St. Paul (72-66) last Friday.
It was the Roughriders with the win in the first meeting (54-42) at
Western on December 23.
Seidel says they are very good on both ends.
“They are really well coached.
They do a lot of things well, they pressure the ball well, they turn
you over, they shoot the basketball well, they take it to the rim and create
for others. They do a lot of
things well,” he said.
A win could also give the Trojans the top seed in the division IV
district tournament. However,
Seidel stresses they need the same approach this game that they have been
having. “We have talked about
it and the kids know this is a big game.
It’s the second time around. We
have kind of been in war with Western for probably six years.
So, we obviously know it is a big game, but it is just one game, I am
not going to put all of our eggs in it,” he told Swankosports.com on
Tuesday afternoon, “They have a commanding lead on the league, but we are
going to go our and do whatever we can to try and win the basketball game.
That’s our focus right now just doing whatever we can with the
little things to have a chance at the end.”
Published 2/03/21
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Saturday
South
Central Faces Streaking Crestview
Two of the upper division teams in the Firelands Conference meet on
Friday night as South Central heads to Crestview to play the Cougars.
It is a very important game for both if they are to stay in the
conference race. South Central
trails Western Reserve by two games and Crestview is back by three.
In fact, if Crestview wins the game, Western’s magic number would
be reduced to only one if they beat St. Paul on Friday.
Now, the Trojans beat Plymouth (62-55) in a conference game last
Friday, but coach Brett Seidel told us on “Spots Saturday” that it was a
disappointing performance by his team.
However, they were much better on Saturday night when thew edged
talented Margaretta (45-44) in a non-conference game when Jackson McCormack
canned a three pointer from the corner in the waning seconds.
Seidel credited their play on defense.
“We were fortunate to come out with a win.
We played exceptional defense the last three quarters against a very
skilled, very versatile, very spread out team.
They went for 21 in the first and 23 over the next three quarters,”
he said.
South Central (12-2,8-2) plays at Crestview (10-4,6-3) on Friday
night. The Cougars beat Mapleton
(54-35) on Tuesday night in a conference game.
It was an exciting one the first time they played as South
Central’s David Lamoreaux tipped one in at the end of regulation and the
Trojans won (67-61) in overtime on their home floor December 18.
Evan Hamilton (19.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) is one of the top players in the
Firelands Conference this season.
Seidel says they must contain him in over to beat Crestview.
He says Hamilton does a lot of things.
“I think it starts with the (Evan) Hamilton kid obviously.
It goes without saying, he is a really, really good player, does a
lot of things really well. He is
very tough to keep in front. You
can’t really double him, he splits you and get numbers, and he is starting
to find people better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They
have shooters around him that have become better and are making shots.
He hits the offensive glass really hard.
He is really as good as it is in our league.
Then they are well coached. John
Kurtz does a great job.”
Crestview has scored over 60 points in four of its last five games.
Seidel says they play fast because they can play a lot of different
kids on the floor that can score. “I
watched them the other night and I think they played 12 guys.
They play so many guys, so they are fresh all of the time.
They are at least eight or nine deep without missing a beat, so I
think that is to their advantage as far as subbing and not losing the skill
level or the intensity on the floor,” said Seidel.
Published 1/29/21
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South
Central Not Looking Past Plymouth
South Central, in a three way tie for the second place in the
Firelands Conference, plays host to Plymouth on Friday night in a conference
game. They are at home for
Maragretta in a non-league game on Saturday night.
Right now, they trail Western Reserve by two games in the conference
standings.
They beat Clear Fork (44-42) in a non-conference game on Tuesday
night on a David Lamoreaux tip in in the final seconds.
Coach Brett Seidel says it was a good win for them.
“I thought we played a very disciplined, very physical, very
athletic, very well coached team. Our
kids even said afterward that was one of the best defensive teams we have
played against. That is kudos to
coach (Steven) Bechtel and what he does there.
I felt we were very fortunate to escape with a win,” he said.
South Central (10-2,7-2) entertains Plymouth (3-11,1-8) on Friday
night. The Big Red was destroyed
by Western Reserve (100-61) on Monday night in a conference game.
Seidel says they can do some things on offense.
“Well, they are dangerous. They
can make shots, they have a lot of shot makers, and (Zeth) Goth is one of
the top scorers in our league. The
Bebee kid and the Miller kid can all make shots and make plays for them.
I think they are better than their record and I know they know that
as well. We are not taking them
lightly, it’s a rivalry game and hopefully our kids are going to be ready
to play,” said Seidel.
Goth scores 19 points a game.
The Big Red have given up some points this year, South Central beat
them (70-46) on December 15. Seidel
says if you don’t clamp down they can score enough to stay in the game.
“When you look at what they have scored and who they have scored
against and how much they have scored against them they can put it in the
hole. It’s something that was
focused on and hopefully we can take a few of those shots away,” he said.
Margaretta (8-4) is a possible tournament opponent for South Central
and Seidel says Saturday night will be a challenge.
“They are well coached. They
pressure the ball really, really well all over the floor,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They change defenses really well,
the execute their half court, they have a load of a player in (Jake)
Leibacher, who we saw two years ago as a freshman in the district is now a
junior and he is really good. They
have a nice supporting cast around him.”
Published 1/22/21
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South
Central Fighting to Stay in it
South Central trails Western Reserve by two games in the Firelands
Conference standings and they are going to have to run the table if they
expect to get a piece of that title.
It’s starts with home conference games Thursday night with New
London and Saturday afternoon with Mapleton.
They beat both in first round games.
However, they lost Saturday night to Norwalk St. Paul (57-48) in a
conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they couldn’t get anything in the basket in
the second half. “I thought we
got the ball to the front of the rim probably eight to 10 times there in the
second half and just could not finish through contact.
I was happy with my kid’s effort.
I thought we played hard. I
thought St. Paul played hard. They
just made a few more shots there in the first half and got us in a hole.
Our kids were resilient and stayed with them.
In the second half we just could not get any shot to fall for us,”
he said.
They scored only 15 points in the second half.
They shot 42 percent for the game, but Seidel says it was a story of
two halves. “We didn’t shoot
a terrible percentage. We shot a
really, really high percentage in the first half and then a lower percentage
in the second half and it equaled itself out.
Overall, our shot selection and our shot making has improved
throughout the year. We are
still not where we want to be, but we are definitely headed in the right
direction as far as shot making and shot selection,” he said.
South Central (7-2,5-2) plays at home against New London (2-5,2-4) on
Thursday night. The Wildcats
were blown out by Western Reserve (86-47) in a conference game last Friday.
In the first meeting this year, the Trojans won (50-43) December 4.
Seidel says they need to do a better job of controlling Grant
Heileman, who had 25 points the first time they played.
“They are really well coached, number one, but number two they have
a kid named Grant Heileman that is a really nice player.
He kicked out butt the first time.
The (Jacob) Shaver kid can play and they have some really good role
players around them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon,
“They play extremely hard and they hit the glass at both ends, so it is
going to be another big challenge. You
gage second half games to see if you have improved or not.
I would like to think we have improved.”
South Central also beat Mapleton (1-7,0-5) in their first meeting
(58-40) on December 10.
Seidel says the Mounties will have more weapons this time.
“They were without the oldest (Cameron) Sloter kid the last time.
I know how athletic and how dangerous they can be.
They are better than they record shows, so it’s going to be a tough
week for us,” said Seidel.
Published 1/13/21
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South
Central Returns With two in the Firelands
South Central has not played a game since before Christmas, but they
return with two big ones this week against Monroeville on Friday and Norwalk
St. Paul on Saturday in the Firelands Conference.
In fact, the layoff has been even longer for coach Brett Seidel, who
has not been on the bench since a December 15 win at Plymouth.
He says everyone is ready to go.
“It has been even longer for me, so I am chomping at the bit and
the kids are especially to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the
last time that we took the floor against Western,” he said.
Western handed South Central its only loss of the season (54-42) on
the 23rd. They trail
he Roughriders by a game in the conference standings.
South Central (6-1,4-1) is at Monroeville (4-3,2-2) on Friday night.
Their last Conference game was also December 23 when they lost
(66-56) to Crestview.
With Monroeville, a lot of what they do is dependent on Isaac Roeder,
according to Seidel. “It all
starts and goes through Roeder, a 6’2”, very, very strong, athletic kid,
a motor, can shoot it from three, can get the rim, can post you, and do a
lot of different things. But,
the thing that I see on film is they have a lot to go around him as well,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have a couple of sophomores
that can fill it. So, they are a
problem at all positions. They
all know their role and do their role very well, but it definitely goes
through Roeder.”
Roeder averages 22.9 points and 10.7 rebounds a game for the Eagles.
Norwalk St. Paul (5-1,3-1) comes calling on Saturday night.
The lost (58-48) to Western Reserve on Tuesday night to fall out of a
share of first place in the conference standings.
Seidel says they are very good and want to push the tempo on offense
and he adds they are really tough as the back half of a double weekend.
“St. Paul is going to be tough no matter what, but the back end of
a conference grind presents a problem. The
three headed monster with (Scotty) Adleman and two Winslows.
They like to get up and down the floor.
They are really, really explosive offensively and they are really
athletic and difficult to contain. Them
on the back end of a double, double in the conference is tuff,’ said
Seidel.
Published 1/06/21
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South
Central With Big Test at Western
South Central has continually played improved basketball this season
and they face a big exam on Wednesday night at Western Reserve against the
Firelands Conference preseason favorite.
The two schools have either won or shared the conference title in
four of the last five years and both are unbeaten in conference games so far
this year.
The Trojans beat Crestview (67-61) in overtime in a conference game
last Friday and added a (40-35) win over Lucas in a non-conference game on
Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are starting to get in a little bit of a
grove. “We are growing and
making a lot of progress. We
have talked a lot about process and how we missed out on some opportunities
to figure out what we actually had where we went as a team and we are
starting to grow into that a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday, “The opponents continue to get tougher and tougher and the kids
are playing some pretty good basketball.
The consistency is coming and is something that is still in process,
but overall we are pleased with the progress.”
Seidel and varsity assistant Pat Durham are quarantined and the team
was coached last weekend, and will be on Wednesday, by head football coach,
and junior varsity basketball coach Corey Fickiesen.
Seidel says he has done a great job.
“He stepped in Friday and Saturday and he is coaching them again
(Wednesday) night. The kids
wouldn’t be able to play games, they would just have to practice unless he
stepped up in that role, so I am grateful for him,” he said.
South Central (6-0,4-0) is at Western Reserve (4-1,2-0) on Wednesday.
The Roughriders are coming off conference wins over Crestview (97-59)
on Saturday and Mapleton (76-48) on Monday.
Seidel says this is the best team they have played this year.
“They are a different animal. They
have a lot of everything. They
have a lot of height, a lot of length, a lot of skill, a lot of athleticism,
they are well coached, they play very hard, and they are deep.
It is just really, really hard to find a weakness.
When you watch their films, watch their games, how they are coached,
it’s just hard to find a weakness,” said Seidel.
He adds they can score points in bunches and that is something the
Trojans must contain. “They
have so many kids that can make shots, the (Luke) Rowlinson kid, the (John)
Skrada kid go without mentioning, but they have a lot of other kids that can
make shots. The runs, they can
make a bunch of shots in a row and that’s what you have to avoid,” he
said.
Rowlinson leads the Firelands Conference in scoring with (24.0) a
game and Skrada shoots 55% from the field and 84% from the line.
Seidel says this is a great opportunity for them.
“It’s unfortunate that we are going through what we are going
through. I would foresee that
this game would be a sellout in a normal year, but this is not a normal
year, but I am thankful, grateful that these kids have earned the right to
play in a big game this early in the year and thankful that they actually
get to play the game,” he said.
Published 12/23/20
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midnight
South
Central Plays High Scoring Plymouth
South Central visits Plymouth for a Firelands Conference game on
Tuesday night.
The Trojans have won all three of their game so far, but their goal
is to get better every time out including Tuesday night.
Last Thursday, in their last game, they beat Mapleton (56-40) in a
conference game. David Lamoreaux
had 20 points for the Trojans.
Coach Brett Seidel was impressed with their effort and their defense.
“I thought our effort was good again.
I thought we played pretty good defense, especially in the first
half. We got a little sloppy
with it in the second half. A
little careless with the basketball and our decision making.
Our effort was good,” said Seidel.
The South Central coach says this is a team that has to remain
focused on getting better every time they are on the floor.
“We talked all year that this is going to be a process and we just
have to continue to impress and get better every day, so that’s our goal
right now. The kids are really
focused and trying to get better in practice each and every day and that’s
all you can ask,” he said.
South Central (3-0,2-0) plays down the road and around the corner at
Plymouth (0-3,0-1) on Tuesday night. The
Big Red did not play last week. They
lost their last game to Crestview (71-63) on December 4.
Seidel says they have a lot of scorers they will have to deal with.
“From what I see on film they can really score it.
They have some shooters, they have some scorers.
They are obviously a very tough guard defensively.
We have to be ready to defend the entire floor for 32 minutes,” he
said.
When it comes to tempo of the game, Seidel says Plymouth going to
want to push the pace he feels. “From what I have seen on film they do
like to get up and down the floor. They
have several people that can put it in the basket and that’s what they are
trying to do early and often,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday,
“They are trying to get the best, quick shot that they can and they
aren’t afraid to take it and they make a lot of them.”
Published 12/15/20
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South
Central Heads for Mapleton
South Central is making progress, maybe baby steps, and their next
test is on Thursday night at Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game.
Last Friday, they won their conference opener in beating New London
(50-43) at home. David Lamoreaux
had 23 points for the Trojans.
Coach Brett Seidel says it was a better effort than in their opener,
a (42-39) win over Mansfield St, Peter’s, but they still have a long way
to go. “Still some
inconsistencies. We haven’t
played four quarters yet. We
know it’s a process to continue to play fundamental basketball at both
ends,” he said.
With COVID-19 everything is different, including practices.
Seidel says they try and make things as normal as possible, but that
is pretty much impossible. “Everything
is a little awkward, a little strange,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday afternoon, “Kids are wanting to be kids as much as possible.
Coaches are trying to contain this as much as possible and not make
it as much as possible an unpleasant experience.
It’s different, it’s just awkward.”
South Central (2-0,1-0) plays at Mapleton (0-1,0-0) on Thursday night
in a conference game. Mapleton
lost (64-52) to Loudonville in a non-league game last Saturday night.
That is their only game so far, a league game with Western Reserve
last Friday was postponed due to COVID issues within the Western program.
Seidel says the Mounties can be hard to guard.
“I know they are very athletic.
They can have five guys on the floor that can all handle it and shoot
it and run and jump. They are
very, very unique as far as personnel,” he said.
Published 12/09/20
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South
Central Looking For Ways to Get Better
South Central, the defending conference co-champion, opens the
Firelands Conference portion of its schedule on the road Friday night over
at New London.
Last week, the Trojans (1-0,0-0) squeaked out a (42-39) win in a
non-conference game at Mansfield St. Peter’s.
Coach Brett Seidel says his kids have to be more patient with the
ball. “I think we have to take
care of the basketball. Just
slowing down and making the right reads.
We have been kind of playing in a hurry.
There is a difference from playing fast and being in a hurry and I
think we were hurried a little bit. It
was like we had to score right now on every possession, every play was
trying to make something great happen on every pass, every dribble.
We just have to take what the defense gives us a little more.
We worked on that all week,” said Seidel.
It is almost as certain as the sun always rises that coaches believe
a team shows great improvement from game one to game two, but Seidel says
that doesn’t just happen, you have to make it happen.
“I am hoping the kids have learned something in game experience and
are taking that back to the drawing board and getting some practice in on
the things we needed to work on are carry it back over to the game floor and
making those changes. That is
what we are looking for the things we have been drilling and preaching and
have them carry over to the floor,” he said.
New London had games with Edison and Wellington postponed last week
due to the opponent having issues with COVID-19, however, Seidel says they
kind of know what to expect from the Wildcats.
“It is kind of the world we are living in right now with them
having two postponed games. We
get one for weather (Tuesday). I
feel really bad for Jamil Arnold. He
got injured in football and he would be a big piece in basketball.
He is probably working really hard to recover if he has already had
his surgery. I feel real bad for
that kid,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I know
that they have the (Grant) Heileman kid back and he is a load.
He was a load last year. He
can make plays off the dribble. He
can shoot it from deep. He
handles the ball well, long, athletic at the defensive end.
So, he is a problem. I
know they have a kid that has moved back from Wellington.
His name is (Jacob) Shaver. I
know he is a bigger kid, big athlete. I
know he can play a little as well. Obviously,
they are going to be well coached by coach Held.
We need to show up and be ready to play.”
Published 12/03/20
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South
Central Going in Blind
South Central, the defending Firelands Conference co-champion and
division IV district runner-up opens the season on Friday at Mansfield St.
Peter’s in a non-conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says they have a lot of kids that have to embrace
new roles with the team. “Even
those kids who are coming back are going to be into a new role as compared
to last year with ball being in Simon’s (Blair) hands 75 percent of the
time. We now have kids that have
to handle it more, shoot it more, be more aggressive at both ends of the
floor. Also, with the absence of
him and my son (Isiah) they were pretty good at he defensive end of the
floor and I am seeing some things that we really need to improve on the
defensive end,” said Seidel.
Sam Seidel (4.1 ppg), Jackson McCormack (4.3 ppg), Blaine Wheeler
(5.5 ppg) and David Lamoreaux (11.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg) are returners for the
Trojans.
Now, Mansfield St. Peter’s is filled with a lot of unknowns.
They have anew coach in Michael Barrett and a number of new players.
Seidel says, frankly, they are going to be going off what they
remember from last year. “Usually
I can grab a scrimmage film or two, but I haven’t been able to do that
this year, there have been a couple cancelled or whatever.
I don’t now much about them. I
know the returners they had from last year and some of the JV kids they had
from last year. I can guarantee
they are going to play hard it’s opening night, the first game, so we are
probably going to get max effort,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “We are still a work in process.
We are just trying to figure out where we fit and what works for us
on both ends of the floor. Just
trying to get better in transition.”
Seidel adds it is going to be up do them to give effort on every
possession of the game. “This
is completely blind. We are
going into this hoping that our kids are ready to go and compete on every
possession and that’s all we can ask,” he said.
Published 11/24/20
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South
Central Looking for Leaders
South Central is coming off a stretch when they have competed for the
Firelands Conference title every year and this year they have a good team
that will get better as the season unfolds.
What kind of season it will be in Ohio is still unclear with the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The OHSAA says all plans are for the boys’ basketball season to
start the week of Thanksgiving, however in a report released Thursday by the
Ohio Department of Health nearly ever county in the state is colored red
giving the appearance of the Sioux Nation ready to attack at the Little Big
Horn.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says it seems everyday you get up
you face the same challenges. “It
is also like Groundhog Day, it’s like is this ever going to go away?
We are chomping at the bit for some normalcy.
I am grateful that the association and the state is trying to allow
these kids to have a season, especially seniors.
I know what that is like to have a season taken away.
You still think about Lucas last year.
Just the opportunity to play. I
know it’s condensed crowds and things are different, strange at times, but
at least the kids are getting a chance,” said Seidel.
The Trojans were (21-4) last year, shared the Firelands Conference
title with Western Reserve and Norwalk St. Paul, and lost in the division IV
district final.
Seidel says they have some talent returning.
“Everyone knows that we lost a pretty good nucleus last year in an
All-Ohio guard (Simon Blair) and my son (Isiah) was a pretty tough kid who
competed and was unselfish. I
said all along we were going to be different the problem is we didn’t have
a summer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Usually the
summer is a time of evaluation where you can evaluate where people fit and
what roles they are going to have, really what you can expect the following
season, but we didn’t have a summer. We
are just going to try and sort things out as we go. That’s
what I see on the practice floor are kids that are hungry and working hard
and that’s all I can ask.”
One key to their success, according to Seidel, is they need to
develop leadership. “You have
teams that are coach led and they are usually good, but teams that are
player led are usually better, so that is what we are trying to develop.
We lost some seniors to graduation and that leadership is not in the
gym anymore, so we are demanding that kids step up and take that role,” he
said.
Published 11/13/20
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South
Central at Home for New London
South Central plays its final Firelands Conference game of the year
on Friday night as they host the New London Wildcats.
The winner avoids the basement of the conference standings.
Last Saturday, South Central beat Fredericktown (33-12) in a
non-conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they played well on both sides of the
ball, but their play was fueled by the defense.
“We played well. It
started off kind of crazy on Friday night with the delay and then just
deciding to go ahead and move it to Saturday, so we had to make that hour
long trip twice. I told the kids
after the game if that is how we are going to play we will make that trip
multiple times every week if we have to.
We came out with some energy on both sides.
I think we had two three and outs in a row on defense, which really
got our offense going. It gave
our offense some confidence that if we don’t score on every possession we
can get some stops. We went up
20-0 there at the half. We kind
of let them back in it and then in the fourth quarter we buckled back down
and ended up running away with it, so it felt good,” said Fickiesen.
South Central has played its best football over the last three weeks.
Fickiesen says they got some players back that were injured and the
other kids had gotten more experience. “Just
like the year of 2020 it has kind of been a roller coaster of a season, just
like the year for everyone. A
lot of different things went into this year, just like it did for every team
in the state. For us, we lost
some key guys early on and we had some other guys that kind of had to move
spots and learn some new things. Finally,
once we were able to do that along with getting some other guys back, we
were able to start playing a little better football,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday, “So, this everyone gets in the playoffs
thing, you can say what you want about it, but for this season I think it
gave everyone some extra life, some extra excitement, especially for us with
the season we were having. Even
though we lost in the second round in a game we thought we should have won,
it gave our kids some confidence and we were able to use that on Saturday
night.”
South Central (2-7,0-6) hosts New London (2-7,0-6) in “FC” play
on Friday night. After losing in
the playoffs, New London has won two games in beating Strasburg-Franklin
(39-14) and Bucyrus (41-13) on Saturday.
Fickiesen says, like them, the Wildcats seem to have found their
grove. “Like I said this crazy
season has kind of been a roller coaster and it has been the same for them
as it has us. They have been
playing some good football this last two weeks.
You kind of find something at some point in the year and they seem to
have found that. It is something
that is working really well for them, but for the last four or five years it
has been the same thing when we meet up.
You can throw the records out the window, none of that matters
anymore because they are going to play their best and we are going to try
and play our best. It is that
rivalry feel. I know our kids
are excited, their kids are excited. We
get the opportunity to go play football again one last time on our home
field. It’s a pretty big deal
for our kids,” he said.
Published 10/27/20
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South
Central Heads for Fredericktown
We are having some unique matchups in these regular season games
among teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs and one of those has
South Central, of the Firelands Conference, at Fredericktown, of the Knox
Morrow Athletic Conference, on Friday night.
The Trojans (1-7) won their first game of the season in their playoff
opener in beating Fairport Harbor Harding (41-7) and last week were in
position to upset unbeaten Malvern before falling (35-26) in a second round
game in division VII.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they had every chance in the world to win
that game, but came up a little short. “At
one point there in the third quarter we were up 20-7.
We had an opportunity right before half to score and we didn’t get
it done there and then we gave them a little bit of momentum, but I was
proud of our effort. We talked
Saturday when we were in that we belong in that spot,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We belong in the second round of
the playoffs and honestly we feel like we could easily be playing this week.
Hats off to them they made a couple of more plays than we did in the
second half. So, our kids played
hard. It is upsetting and it has
been bubbling still all weekend. It
was a tough one to swallow, but we have to move on and get ready for the
next one, especially for our seniors.”
Fredericktown (2-6) blasted winless Utica (55-27) last week in a
non-conference regular season game.
Fickiesen recognizes Fredericktown’s excellent football folklore.
“Traditionally they have a good program and that is why we wanted
to schedule them. It kind of has
that playoff feel. A team that
you are not really familiar with. You
have to travel a little bit. We
wanted to keep it like that just for experience for our kids for our
seniors, but for our underclassmen as well to get some extra experience for
them,” said Fickiesen.
It is a chance to play another football game, and after all that’s
what we are in this game to do play football games, and Fickiesen says they
are looking forward to the opportunity.
“We get another opportunity to go play football with each other and
that’s what we keep talking about. As
long as we are able to do it, that’s what we are going to do,” he said.
Published 10/20/20
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South
Central With a Bigger Challenge
South Central competed in, and won, the first playoff game in school
history last week, but its going to be tougher this week as they travel to
unbeaten Malvern to meet the Hornets in a second round game in division VII
on Friday night.
After going winless in the six games headed into the playoffs, the
Trojans trounced Fairport Harbor Harding (41-7) in a first round game last
Friday. Trey Beverly carried the
ball 18 times for 177 yards and three TD’s.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says the kids had really good focus.
“We had talked with our guys about kind of a rest of the season,
everyone is now 0-0 headed into the playoffs.
We got some guys back and were a little more healthy than we were, so
it kind of felt like a reset for us. The
energy level, the excitement level was all there.
To come out and get a score early, and get a stop, and go get another
score it just gave our kids some confidence, which is what they needed,”
he said.
Injuries to key players has been a problem for the Trojans this
season, but Fickiesen says they are starting to get more healthy.
“We are getting closer. We
are not all of the way there yet, but we are getting closer, which is huge
for us. We have quite a few
seniors, but the problem was a lot of those guys were sitting on the
sidelines or they were dressed and they could only play a little bit of the
game because we were trying to monitor how much.
Now, those guys are little more full go,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Wednesday, “It has kind of brought everyone else around them up as
well. Plus, you have a lot of
other kids that now have experience and when you throw them in there, they
have been playing all year and it doesn’t feel like that much of a drop
off. We have a lot of guys
playing and that’s a good thing.”
Malvern (6-0) has been very good this season, but they haven’t
beaten a team all year with a winning record.
The most any of their opponents so far has is two victories.
Fickiesen says they have an athletic quarterback and on defense they
have a group of very fast linebackers. “They
are good obviously. When you
talk about an undefeated team, they are going to be good.
Their quarterback is very athletic.
He is a kid that you have to got to try and contain the best that you
possibly can. He is probably
going to make a couple of big runs, but you just have to keep him in front
of you as often as possible. They
have a couple of athletes that he can throw the ball to.
You flip over to the defensive side and they have a couple of
linebackers that are good, their outside backers are really fast.
So, it’s a challenge, but I think it is one our kids are ready for.
They are ready to embrace it. It
is exciting to get to the second round of the playoffs.
Our energy level is high, so we have to continue that the rest of the
week. We look forward to a good
matchup on Friday night,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/15/20
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South
Central Excited by Opportunity
South Central leaves early on Friday for the long trip to Lake
County, east of Cleveland, for a first round playoff game in division VII
against the Fairport Harding Skippers.
The Trojans (0-6) lost to Western Reserve (30-0) last Friday in a
Firelands Conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says his kids have the right attitude going
into this playoff game. “Injuries
have kind of got the best of us. The
good thing about that is we have had to have a lot of other guys that have
had to step up and play a lot of minutes, which in the long run is going to
help you out. We still have some
guys out, but we have some guys coming back.
You pair those with some guys that got some experience.
Our kids have had a really good attitude this week and they are
really excited about the opportunity that is in front of us,” he said.
Harding (4-2) plays in the Chagrin Valley Conference and lost to
Pymatuning Valley (38-7) last week, in fact, both of their losses this
season come to the same team.
Fickiesen says they have some kids that can make big plays on
offense. “They have a really
good running back, quick and shifty, so we have to be able to contain him.
A big tight end that spits out and plays some receiver that they like
to get the ball to. A couple of
tall, athletic receivers. They
are pretty good up front. You
don’t get a 4-2 record by being bad. The
two games they lost were both to a team we call “P” valley that is
really big and really physical. We
understand that our league has prepared us to play a lot of different teams.
We kind of felt like out league didn’t get the justice that we felt
it should have in the voting. So,
we are excited to go and perform and show people what our league is really
about,” said Fickiesen.
The Firelands Conference has featured a lot of good teams and
different approaches this year, but Fickiesen says there really wasn’t a
team like Harbor Harding. He has
to go back to last year. “We
talked to our kids about that because you are playing a team we know nothing
about. Honestly, our kids have
never heard of schools up in that area.
So, this year we couldn’t compare them to anybody we played, they
just really didn’t fit. We
went back to last year and kind of an Oberlin team and some of our
upperclassmen remember that. They
have some athletes and if let them get out and space and get going you might
be in trouble. If you are able
to corral them and your are able to move the ball offensively you are going
to have opportunities to score, but you have to take advantage of those,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Like I said our kids
have been great leading up to this point we have been saying for the last
six weeks we are trying to get ready for this first playoff game.
Now it is here, so how are you going to react?
They have been positive all week long and they are excited for the
opportunity.”
Published 10/09/20
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Another
Tough one for South Central
The Firelands Conference is rugged this year and it seems every time
South Central turns around they have another solid team to play and this
week is no exception as they are at Western Reserve on Friday night.
Last week, Crestview blasted the Trojans (55-7) in a conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they did some good things, but two plays
stand out to him in particular that gave the Cougars the momentum.
“We were able to move the ball well at times, especially early on.
We got down in the red zone, we were on the three-yard line there and
we didn’t punch it in. We
turned around and had Ross Kuhn sacked and he made a great play and got out
of it and ended up throwing a deep pass.
I thought those two plays really turned the momentum in their favor.
They made some more plays than we did and obviously the score tells
they made a lot more plays than we did.
Watching the film, we still have some kids doing some good things,
but we have to get a lot better in a lot of areas,” said Fickiesen.
The Trojans are still being affected by the injury bug.
Their best athlete in David Lamoreaux is likely out for the season
with a broken collar bone.
South Central (0-5,0-5) plays at Western Reserve (3-2,3-2) in a
conference game on Friday. The
Roughriders roughed up New London (46-12) last week in their game.
Fickiesen says Western has an outstanding quarterback in Jude Muenz
and they are a physical team. “Well,
they are good. I think everyone
would agree with that. They beat
St. Paul a couple of weeks ago, regardless if they had their quarterback or
not, they still beat them. That’s
a big deal. Jude Muenz is a man.
He is a really good quarterback and he is a really good runner, he
kind of does everything for them. The
(Jake) Jarrett kid in the slot is a really good player.
The offensive line is really well coached,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They run the football right at
you and then they take shots when they need to.
Defensively, they are disciplined.
They try and stop the run first and make you beat them through the
air. They are just good all of
the way around.”
Playing the kind of schedule they have, Fickiesen believes they will
be well prepared for the non-postseason playoffs, which begin next week.
“It is kind of how our season has gone, there are no cakewalks,
there are no easy games, but we knew that at the beginning of the year.
We knew it would test us and hopefully we will be ready for that
playoff game when we get there due to the strength of our schedule,” he
said.
Published 9/30/20
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South
Central Needs Better Discipline
South Central goes in search of its first win of the season on Friday
as they play at Crestview in a Firelands Conference game.
The Trojans (0-4,0-4) have done some good things this season, but
they have not been able to play well enough for four quarters to get a win
yet.
Mapleton got 166 yards rushing and three TD’s from Bryer Ramey last
week in a (50-32) win over the Trojans in league play.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they had some problems stopping the
Mounties wing-T offense. “Their
offense, we saw it week one, a little bit when we were watching games.
It’s scary and we got to see that first hand on Friday night.
They get you to think the ball is going one way and it’s going a
different way. Honestly it seems
they are getting better every single week.
They are running it and they are getting more confident.
It just so happened on Friday night they ran it well against us.
We did not play as disciplined football as we needed to to stop them.
So, a lot of credit to them,” he said.
Crestview (3-1,3-1) stands in a share of second place in the
conference with Norwalk St. Paul and Plymouth, and they walloped New London
(62-14) last week.
Quarterback Ross Kuhn threw three scoring passes and ran for two more
in the win over New London. He
leads the conference in passing yards (805) and passing touchdowns (10) this
year.
Fickiesen says Kuhn is a very good quarterback and he has some
weapons around him. “They have
one of the better quarterbacks in the area in Ross Kuhn, who is a really
good all around player. They
have the Hamilton kid out wide, who they like to throw it to.
They have the Shifflet kid in the backfield.
They are solid up front on both sides.
They will play you man on defense and say beat us if you can.
They are pretty good at it all of the way around,” he told
Swankonsports.con on Thursday night, “Our kids have been working and
grinding all week. We have been
proud of the effort they have been giving despite where we are at having
some guys out and some injuries getting healthy is the big thing right now.
The guys that are out there are still fighting and clawing for
everything they can get.”
Fickiesen believes they are going to continue to struggle as a team
until they find more consistency. He
says they must play four solid quarters on Friday night.
“We have some guys now that are getting a little more experience
with some guys that are out injured, we have had to plug some different guys
in in a bunch of different areas. It
is the same thing on offense and defense. It’s being more consistent,
taking away some of the penalties here and there, being a little more
disciplined all of the way around. We
have continued to preach just playing together.
We don’t feel like we have really done that yet.
We haven’t really played a full game yet, so that is what we are
looking for. Hopefully, we can
do that on Friday night and we will see how it goes,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/25/20
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South
Central Working on Discipline
South
Central plays its final home game before the playoffs as they most Mapleton
in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans are still seeking their first win of the season as a
(41-19) setback to Monroeville last week.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they did some good things, but again were
not consistent enough. “We got
down a couple of scores. We had
a couple of miscues on offense and they capitalized on a couple of bigger
plays on defense, some penalties type of stuff.
We got down a couple of scores and we came back and made it 14-13
there. We had some momentum and
then into the second half, even into that third quarter, we were right there
and we just couldn’t get enough going on offense to put one in,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We got some guys banged up and we had to
throw some guys into some different positions.
We were kind of all out of sorts there, but credit to them they are a
very good football team as a lot of people have already seen and predicted.
We knew that that we were going to have to play really well.
We did, but just not for long enough.
We still had some penalties, mental mistakes here and there, so we
still have to get a lot of things cleaned up because we have another tough
game this week.”
On Friday night, Mapleton (0-3,0-3) comes to town.
They lost (36-22) to Plymouth in a conference game last week.
Fickiesen says the Mounties are doing some really good things under
first year coach Matt Stafford. “You
take a look at their scores and even better yet we have been taking a look
at their film. They have been
winning their last two games by two touchdowns against Western Reserve and
Plymouth. That offense is good,
he’s got them going this early, which is really impressive.
So, we have to be very disciplined on the defensive side.
That wing-T out of the shotgun they kind of deceive where the ball is
really at, so you have to read your keys and make sure your outside and
inside linebackers understand who they are supposed to be looking at, so we
are going to have to play really well on defense,” he said.
Fickiesen emphasizes that they must stay on their keys and not be
overly aggressive on defense and when they have it they have to be able to
run the ball. “We are watching
film and there are times when you kind of watching the wrong guy.
You are not sure who really has the ball and it’s even different
when you are out there on the field. So,
we are going over that kind of stuff with our kids.
We will do some that stuff throughout the week to make sure they
really understand who they are supposed to be keying and they are not ball
watching or guy watching and they are making sure that we are disciplined on
both sides of the ball. On the
offensive side, we have to get better at running the football.
We haven’t been able to do that the last couple of weeks when we
really needed to and just be more consistent and get away form some of those
penalties. We are looking at
another tough matchup, but another good Friday night,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/15/20
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South Central Faces Another Physical Team in Monroeville
South Central entertains Monroeville in a Firelands Conference matchup on Friday night outside of Greenwich.
The Trojans have lost their first two, meanwhile Monroeville shares first place with Norwalk St. Paul and Plymouth.
Plymouth beat South Central (42-28) last week in a conference game.
Trojans coach Corey Fickiesen says for the second straight week they were in it until the end. “We were driving down eight with right about a minute left in the game when we threw that interception that got returned for a touchdown, so it made the score a little bit wider than, maybe, it should have been. We missed a lot of opportunities that we felt we had. We had a lot of yards in penalties taken away. So, we just have to clean things up. We keep telling the kids that we just have to be more consistent. We have to continue to get better every single day and every single week because everyone is getting in the playoffs, so you want to be at your best on week seven. We know our schedule is going to prepare us for that because we don’t really have any off weeks this year every week is a tough one. So, we know if we continue to get better every single week, come week seven when we get to the playoffs, hopefully we can be ready,” said Fickiesen.
The Trojans suffered a bigger loss when last year’s offensive player of the year in the conference David Lamoreaux suffered a season ending collarbone injury.
Fickiesen says they will have to turn to some other kids, who he believes are ready to fill those shoes. “You are talking about a potential player of the year candidate there, so obviously it changes some things, but we have a lot of other good guys that have been able to kind of step up in his place. So, now you get into the whole spread the ball around mentality or maybe we tried to force it to him a little bit. Now, we have to find everyone on the field. That can be a good thing for us, but like I said when you lose a player like his caliper and you are losing him on both sides of the ball it is difficult, but we have a lot of other guys I think are ready to step up,” he said.
Monroeville (2-0,2-0) drilled New London (42-12) last week.
Fickiesen says they Eagles are physical and they are athletic too. “They are good. I think everybody kind of knew that coming into the year that they were going to be one of those teams that was coming off a year where they struggled a little bit at times, but to be honest when we watched film on them last year we thought they would be good and we thought there were a couple of plays away in most of their games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They return a lot of those guys, especially the guys up front. They are physical and they run the ball really well. Their quarterback Roeder is super athletic. They cause a lot of problems, but we are going to work as hard as we can. We feel our first two games have really tested us and we have had to really improve. So, we are hoping we can come in Friday night and put up a fight.”
Published 9/09/20
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South Central Has to be Physical
South Central travels down the road and around the corner to Plymouth on Friday night to meet the Big Red in a Firelands Conference game on week two of the season.
Last week, South Central gave perennial powerhouse Norwalk St. Paul a game before falling (14-6) at home.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were proud of their effort especially, but understand coming close is not going to cut it. “Our kids played extremely hard. They did everything we told them to do for the last three quarters. I just felt that me as the offensive coordinator, I didn’t put our guys in position to score enough points to beat a really good team like St. Paul. They fought their butts off and that’s what I told them after the game, we are not in this for moral victories, there is no such thing as that here. We are in this for conference championships. In order to do that, you have to beat St. Paul, which we weren’t able to do, but gave them a shot and now we just have to stay focused on each week from here on out. You never know what might happen, we might still have that opportunity,” said Fickiesen.
Plymouth won their first game in beating New London (26-6) on Friday night.
The Big Red runs the double tight, double wing offense and Fickiesen says they need to find a way to slow that offense down and keep them off the board to have a chance to win. “It’s that same thing, “Football in Phonebooth.” Coach Genders is doing a great job over there. Every single year, especially when you have to go to there place, it’s going to be a tough one. The last two times we have been over there, they have hung up a lot of points on us, so we are working really hard on stopping that offense and figure out some different ways and different things that we can do. Our kid’s mentality wise have been pretty good this week coming off of that loss, but we know the opponent that we are facing is a tough one,” he said.
Plymouth coach Mark Genders called this the most physical South Central team he has seen and Fickiesen says they need to play like that if they are going to have a chance to win this week, or any week. “We talked about playing a six game schedule we have all conference teams. If you play in the Firelands Conference and you want to win a conference championship you better be physical. Last week, we saw it in St. Paul, this week we see it against Plymouth, next week we will see it against Monroeville and on and on and on, you have to be more physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We have been preaching that all the way back to last year. We want our reputation to be a physical football team and that is the only way we are going to be able to compete in the Firelands night in and night out. So, we have been working really hard at that. Our kids have been really good at picking some different things up this week in practice, but also staying physical and playing as hard as they can is the goal for Friday night. We are going to go out there and give it our best shot, it should be a good one.”
Published 9/02/20
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South Central Plays Always Good St. Paul
South Central has a big challenge on Friday night as they host perennial power Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game to open the season.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says his kids are really excited to get the season started against a quality opponent. “I feel like our kids have been excited this whole time because there was that glimmer of hope that they were going to get to play football, but then last week when the announcement finally came out that it was a go it just added a little bit more to it. Then you throw in the fact that it is only conference games and we have to be ready because we are playing St. Paul week one our guys have been excited,” he said.
South Central’s football program has been moving in the right direction under Fickiesen. He says this year it has been hard to tell what their talents level is, but they are going to find out Friday. “We are trying to continue to build off of that. Just like everyone else in the state I would probably say most people are still unsure. We did get a scrimmage in, but it was kind of a basic scrimmage and we only got one of them, so it has been a little bit difficult to tell. We have some guys with experience back that are going to be able to fill in in some of the spots that we lost some of our key guys, but it all comes down to can you preform on Friday night. Like I have told the kids we will find out how good we are this Friday night against St. Paul, who is always at the top,” said Fickiesen.
St. Paul did not win the conference title for first time since 2011 last year, but Fickiesen knows every year the Flyers are going to be one of the best small school programs around and this year in no different. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say there is not a good St. Paul team. They are always good because John Livengood gets the best out of every kid he puts on the field and they do a tremendous job every year no matter who they lose, who they bring back, it doesn’t matter, they are going to be St. Paul and everyone knows that. We haven’t got to watch film because they didn’t scrimmage, so we have kind of been going off of what we think, what we feel,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “You know what they are going to do, but can you stop it? Are you going to be ready for their intensity? Are you going to be ready for them firing out right at you? Those are the big question marks that we have been going through the last couple of weeks. If we are able to do that hopefully we will be able to compete on Friday night. We get to test and see where we are at week one, right away.”
Published 8/26/20
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South Central Will Have to Hit the Ground Running
South Central is busy preparing for a football season that at least has a chance to begin on August 28.
A proposal put forward by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Friday calls for a six week regular season with every school in Ohio then advancing to the playoffs. It still needs approval by state government.
Trojans coach Corey Fickiesen says the announcement did provide a boost in enthusiasm. “It’s been good. Obviously, there has been those early distractions and then with the announcement last week of things changing to the six games for us probably all conference games and everybody in the playoffs you saw a different type of excitement. It gave the kids some hope, okay, this could happen. You are still waiting to see if there is going to be another announcement or not and what that might be. Our kids have done a really good job of just coming in every single day and trying to focus and not really worrying about what might happen or what will happen. We are just focusing on if we get a chance to play football, we are going to be ready to do so whenever that is. That is what we have been preaching everyday and the kids have been doing a really good job of staying focused on that,” said Fickiesen.
Something we already know is there will be no scrimmages, but Fickiesen says there could be a silver lining for them. “That is pretty tough. Usually you go into your scrimmages with a plan and what kids we put in what place to get them on film and see what they can do, but now it is all just against yourself. It’s the same for every team. The other thing is I feel like our scrimmage schedule is pretty tough and we have come out of a couple of our scrimmages in the past couple of years a little beat up. This year you are not going to have that. You should be fresh, but you also have to be ready to play a football game. So, balancing both of those kinds of things is different this year along with everything else, but everyone in the state is battling that. How you do that and how you get along with that you go with it and you do the best you can every single day,” he said.
Now it is very likely that week one is going to be a conference game for the Trojans and Fickiesen says that means they have to be in top form right away. “That goes with our motto this year. When this all started, we didn’t know when things were going to start, we didn’t know who we were going to be playing, all of that. Now we have the idea that it is probably conference games, so you have to be ready. You have to be ready week one to pretty much play your best football. With only six games you can’t slip up a time or two or else it is really going to cost you. We have been lucky enough the past couple of years to play Willard, which has kind of been a rivalry for us, so our kids have kind of got that feeling of a big game early on, so we are hoping that kind of carries over,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The same energy we saw the last couple of years on week one we will continue to see that. The whole thing of seeing those mistakes and getting them fixed before the conference everyone is in the same boat. So, again you just try to make the best of it day by day and we will see where we fall hopefully August 28.”
Published 8/12/20
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South Central Has to be Much Better
South Central has a chance to avenge it most lopsided loss of the season on Friday night when they play Lucas in a division IV district final at Willard High School.
But they know that is going to be very difficult to do.
South Central (21-3) beat Norwalk St. Paul (47-36) on Tuesday night in a semifinal game. Lucas got past Sandusky St. Mary’s (72-61) in overtime in their semi.
Trojan head coach Brett Seidel says Lucas does everything well. “There are not too many weaknesses that I see. They are good in transition, they are good in the half court. They are good at on ball defense, they are good off the ball. They take good shots, they rebound the basketball well at both ends, they take care of the basketball and they are not going to beat themselves. It’s a tall task, let’s put it that way,” said Seidel.
The Cubs (24-1) seem like they score in bunches and do it by running the floor, but Seidel says they can grind out possessions too. “You hope that you can answer, but again they are really good defensively. Trying to limit the number of runs that they get is kind of essential to staying in the ballgame,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I think they can score at a low pace too. I have seen it. They can score in the half court a bucket at a time or they can score in spurts on you. Honestly, I can’t see too many weaknesses with them.”
Lucas handled South Central (70-54) in a non-conference game on January 7. Seidel says they don’t need to be better, they must be a whole lot better if they are going to compete with the Cubs. “A lot has to be different if we are to change 16 points. They just didn’t beat us, they beat us handily. In order to change a result like that the process has to be changed quite a bit. Everything has to completely overhauled,” he said.
South Central won the district title just last season with many of the same players. Lucas had not advanced to the regional since 2001.
Advantage Trojans, right? Seidel says not so fast. “We do have that experience going for us, but they also have the experience of being in a state championship game in football. I looked at that way, but at the same time they have been there as well in the football season. I’m hoping that our kids are ready to go. I know how good Lucas is and so do our kids. We know they have the athletes there and we are just hoping to play as well as we can,” said Seidel.
Published 3/06/20
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www.swankonsportshosting247.comSouth Central Advances to Second Straight District Final
South Central outscored Norwalk St. Paul (16-5) over the last six minutes of the game and went on to beat the Flyers (47-36) in a division four district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
They advance to face Lucas (24-1,) one of only three teams to beat them this year, (70-54) in January 7 in a non-conference game, in the district final on Friday night at Willard.
The Trojans beat Colonel Crawford last year in the final to advance to the regional tournament.
It was a game of mini runs. St. Paul led (8-2) after a Brandon Furlong basket with 3:11 to play in the first quarter, South Central would take a one-point lead at the end of the quarter when Simon Blair tallied on twisting layup at the horn after a steal at midcourt.
South Central led (19-18) at the half.
The Trojans took an eight point advantage (29-21) with 4:04 to play in the third, but again St. Paul would spurt back and get within two at (29-27) after three quarters.
The Flyers would tie the score at (31-31) with 6:23 left on Nick Winslow’s two free throws. The Trojans got threes by David Lamoreaux with 6:07 left and Jackson McCormack with 3:57 left to lead (37-31) and this time the Flyers didn’t have an answer.
“It seemed every time we would push it to six or eight there would be a time out and they would come back and go on their own run. I think both teams went on runs, but thankfully we went on the last one,” said South Central coach Brett Seidel.
With the Trojans leading (40-36) with 1:31 left McCormack took a three that his coach wished he hadn’t until it went in to stretch the lead to seven. “Jackson hit a shot, we had just talked about it in a time out that we wanted layups and back cuts and he hit a three up four and it puts you up seven, so it was a big shot,” said Seidel.
That was pretty much the nail in the coffin for St. Paul.
Flyers coach Mike Smith says it was a tough defensive game where both teams found in hard to score. “Both teams were going at it really hard defensively. Both teams know each other well and know personnel well. They were just able to blow it open there and we had to kind of get out and gamble and do some things that we didn’t want to do. It is just awful hard score both ways,” said Smith.
District 6 division IV player of the year Simon Blair had 16 to lead the Trojans and Seidel says they got some good contributions from others on both ends, including McCormack. “Even defensively, I thought Jackson played really well. Blaine Wheeler was really good, Evan Legg was really good and I thought Sam Seidel was really good (Tuesday) night as well. Furlong is a really good defensive player, he’s really long, 6’3”, and that size kind of bothered Simon (Blair) a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I didn’t think he was aggressive as he normally is. It is kind of how he played here last year. He kind of felt the game out and really got his teammates involved.”
Lamoreaux, the Trojans second leading scorer on the season, had all 10 of his points, including two dunks, in the second half. “He was a lot better. The crazy thing is he can do that anytime he wants. We just need to find that button to push to get him to want to. That drop step dunk on the kid in the second half I thought was more impressive than the two hander. He hit a big three for us when it was tied up, he rolled in a three over the front of the rim and that was a big shot for us,” said Seidel.
Going into the game, Seidel though they needed to be very physical on defense against St. Paul and he thought they were on Tuesday night. “They are so good at driving downhill. So, very, very difficult to matchup with. I mean they drive you downhill and they hit tough shots and they are hard to guard. So, you have to be physical at all five spots and I thought we were,” he said.
Nate Winslow and Furlong both had 10 to lead the Flyers on Tuesday night.
If South Central (21-3) is to qualify for a second straight regional tournament they are going to have to go through Lucas to do it and Seidel knows that is going to be very difficult. “They are a load… they are a load. St. Mary’s played very well, but Lucas is really good and we definitely have our hands full. I’m not going to sugar coat this or anything, we know what we are up against. These kids put themselves in position to get to play them. I’m happy for my kids and we will get back to work on (Wednesday,)” said Seidel.
Published 3/04/20
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www.swankonsportshosting247.comSouth Central Must Limit Turnovers
South Central mixes it up with Norwalk St. Paul in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
Lucas meets Sandusky St. Mary’s in the first game and the two winners return on Friday night to Willard for the district title game.
The Trojans (20-3) and Flyers (16-8) shared the Firelands Conference title this year with Western Reserve. Both teams won on their home floor this year with St. Paul winning (69-66) on January 3 and the Trojans won (66-60) on February 14 and now the rubber match is Tuesday night.
South Central beat Crestline (48-26) to win a sectional title last Friday night and St. Paul outlasted Mohawk (64-54) in games that were played at Crestview High School.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says both teams are going to play with a lot of fire. “The last two games there has been a lot at stake. The game at our place and now (Tuesday) night at Willard, there is a lot at stake. So, both teams will probably bring their effort and their energy. It is probably going to be a highly emotional and competitive game,” said Seidel.
The South Central coach, a winner of 151 games over his 11 year career as Trojan head coach, says his players are actually much more calm than he is going into games like this. “That is what I struggle the most with as a coach is I get a little too emotionally involved sometimes, but my kids are pretty calm considering their coach is kind of a basket case at times,” he said.
St. Paul is not a real deep team, but Seidel says all of their starters are capable of having big nights at any time, including Tuesday night. “They all five scored in double figures in the sectional final. They can go for double figures every single night and several of them can go for 20 on any given night. So, it makes them very difficult to guard,” he said.
When it comes to the keys to beating St. Paul and advancing to the district final, Seidel says they must handle the ball and avoid a bunch of turnovers. “It comes down to possession by possession. I think both teams like to play at a pace. Each possession going to matter a little bit more (Tuesday) night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have to take care of the basketball and make sure we get a shot off each time down. They are very handsy and get a lot of deflections, so taking care of the basketball is probably a big key to the game.”
Published 3/03/20
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www.swankonsportshosting247.comSouth Central Tangles with Crestline
South Central, the defending district champion and tri-winner of the Firelands Conference, meets Crestline in a division IV sectional final Friday night at Crestview High School.
The winner advances to the district semifinal next Tuesday at Willard High School against either Norwalk St. Paul or Mohawk.
The Trojans (19-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, have won their won their last five and 10 of their last 11 and coach Brett Seidel is happy with their execution, but believes they can still be better. “Honestly, I think we have gotten better. I don’t think we are actually as good as what I think we should be, maybe just in the eyes of a coach you are never good enough. I think offensively we have started shooting the basketball. The ball has been moving, our bodies have been moving,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We have been hovering around 17, 18 assists four out of the last five games. W had been averaging 11, 12 assists per game and the last four or five games it has been 17 or 18 and that’s a good sign.”
Crestline (13-10) beat New London (54-52) on Tuesday night in a semifinal at Crestview on a long two-pointer by Calvin Reed at the horn. The Bulldogs have won their last four games.
Seidel says they have a lineup that can do a lot of things. “They are balanced. Their bigs are really good at what they do. They can score in the interior, they hit the offensive glass, they are very solid. As far as tempo control, they handle the ball and they don’t beat themselves. Obviously, they have the (Kaden) Ronk kid, who is an elite athlete with unlimited range,” he said.
Ronk broke the Crestline record for points in a game with 45 against Mansfield Temple Christian last month.
Tempo could be a factor in this game, but Seidel says they can play fast or a slower pace. “We are both trying to do what we do best and put our kids in position to be successful and at the same time every possession matters. I don’t think our kids are completely opposed to playing a half court game, not opposed to grinding it out and playing controlled tempo, but at the same time, I think the like playing up tempo. I think that is going to sort itself out as the game goes on,” said Seidel.
Published 2/27/20
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www.swankonsportshosting247.comSouth Central a Win Away From Title
South Central is just one step away from earning no less than a share of the Firelands Conference title.
They need to win at Monroeville on Friday night.
They share first place with Norwalk St. Paul and Western Reserve. St. Paul hosts Plymouth and Western Reserve is at home for New London on Friday night.
The Trojans moved into a share of the lead with a (66-60) win over St. Paul last Friday, leading (25-6) in second quarter.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played outstanding defense early in the game. “The kids came out and executed defensively and were pretty physical defensively. I thought we played extremely hard. As the game wore on, I thought they were able to get to the rim a little more than they did in the beginning. The kids did enough to put themselves in a position to make Friday meaningful,” said Seidel.
Seidel says when you start the season you want to have a chance to play a game like this one on Friday night. “Obviously, when you set out in November you want to be playing in games that matter in February and March. That’s what these kids have done. They have worked hard enough to enable themselves to play for a share,” he said.
South Central (18-3,11-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at Monroeville (13-8,7-6) on Friday night. The Eagles have won six of their last seven. Their only loss in that span coming last Friday (83-66) to Western Reserve.
The Trojans beat Monroeville (67-49) on January 10.
Seidel says the Eagles are better now than they were in January. “Well, they continue to get better. That’s what I see on film,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I thought Western Reserve shot the ball extremely well because if they hadn’t Monroeville did, they made 13 three pointers against Western last Friday at home. So, they are lot more comfortable at home. We know that and we know we are in for a test on Friday night.”
A key to beating Monroeville is going to be limiting the number of threes they make. Seidel says they have been pretty good perimeter defenders. “One thing I feel like a lot of our kids are able to do is guard the line. That is something we try to make other teams one dimensional and that is a credit to the kids. They really buy into that. They have done a really nice job of having a high hand and be there on the catch as much as possible and then pressure the basketball once they are there,” said Seidel.
Published 2/19/20
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South Central With Biggest Game of the Season
South Central has the opportunity to move back into a share of first place in the Firelands Conference on Friday night by beating first place Norwalk St. Paul at home.
Right now, St. Paul leads South Central and Western Reserve by a game in the conference standings. Western plays at Monroeville on Friday.
Monday night, the Trojans downed Crestview (68-54) in a conference game to keep themselves in position.
Coach Brett Seidel says they made some good halftime adjustments. “Well, I thought our focus was there. I thought we went pretty hard. I thought that we didn’t make any shots in the first half. When we weren’t making any shots and they were making shots, they got comfortable and confident, that is a big piece that they are missing right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “ Their confidence level was on the rise there in the first half. We were at a deficit there at the break. With a few aggressive adjustments there at the half and the kids came out and made a bunch of shots there in the second half.”
It is South Central (16-3,10-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, hosting St. Paul (13-6,11-1) on Friday night. In their league game last Friday, the Flyers blew out Mapleton (81-42,) but they lost (79-70) to Sandusky St. Mary’s on Saturday night.
In their first meeting, the Flyers beat South Central (69-66) in overtime on January 3.
Seidel says St. Paul very balanced. “There are five kids that can play. They play five guys and all five guys can play and do their role really well. They are about as balanced a team that you will come across. As far as what they do for their team. It is not really just one thing that you can try and take away. They don’t this really well and you can take that away. They do a lot of things really well. All of them are really good at their position,” he said.
St. Paul shot the ball very well the first time these teams played, especially from behind the three point line. Seidel says that makes a team feel more confident. “I didn’t think we shot horribly the first time at their place, but they shot it particularly better than us at their place. We try to take a couple of things out of that film, but both teams are playing a little bit differently than they are then. Everything is a lot easier, everything goes a lot smoother when the ball goes in the hoop. When the ball doesn’t go in the hoop it magnifies everything. You have to be perfect in all other aspects of the game,” said Seidel.
Considering what is riding on the game, Seidel says he shouldn’t have to pump the kids up before the game. “If you are not ready to play in a game like this you probably shouldn’t be involved in sports. I haven’t given much thought to any kind of motivating words for pregame speech or anything like that because if you are not ready to go you probably aren’t going to compete really well anyway,” he said.
Published 2/13/20
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South Central Plays Western in Huge Firelands Conference Game
Firelands Conference co-leader South Central travels to Western Reserve on Friday night for a game that carries much significance in the conference race.
The Trojans share first place with Norwalk St. Paul, a game in front of Western. A win by South Central pretty much eliminates the Roughriders from the race. South Central hosts Norwalk St. Paul next Friday.
Add to this that South Central did not play last week due their game against Crestview being postponed due to sickness in the Crestview district.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says he hopes his kids are chomping on the bit to get back on the court. “I would expect that the kids would be ready for a game. It’s February and you are kind of tired of practicing anyway and you are ready for game time. So, I’m hoping that just adds the positive anxiety of wanting to play,” he said.
South Central (14-2,9-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is on the road at Western Reserve (13-3,9-2), #5 in our poll, on Friday night. The Roughriders beat St. Paul last Friday (52-47) to stay in the race. In the first meeting between to powers, South Central won at Western Reserve (56-49) on December 27.
As far as adjustments, Seidel says he isn’t sure what Western will do, if anything. “I don’t know what Sheldon has up his sleeve. He is always trying something new, I’m guessing. He is pretty smart when it comes to that. The problem is last time, I think he did what he wanted to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Blair and Lamoreaux combined for 14 points. Blair goes for 10 and Lamoreaux goes for four. I guessing that is what everybody is trying to do. Trying to take those two away. He did that, but we had some role players that stepped up and made some shots and made some plays for us.”
Seidel says Western Reserve is deep and has a lot of playmakers when they have the ball in their hands. “The thing about them is they are deep and skilled. I measure skill or talent on a couple of different levels. If you are able to create a shot for yourself and if you are able to create a shot for others, I feel like you are a skilled player. They have kids all of the ay through their lineup that are able to create their own and be able to create a shot for others,” said Seidel.
Will the game be close at the end? Probably, yes, and Seidel says they need their guys to step up and make big plays. “Obviously in big games it comes down to players making plays. That is what we are going to try and depend on. On Friday night, I’m just hoping we made a couple more plays than we do,” he said.
Published 2/06/20
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South Central Focused on Cougars
South Central has some huge games in the coming weeks against Western Reserve and Norwalk St. Paul, but this week they have Crestview in a Firelands Conference game and that is what they need to be focused on and nothing else.
Right now, the Trojans trail St. Paul by one and lead Western Reserve by one in the conference race. They play at Western on February 7 and host St. Paul on February 14.
After handing Plymouth (53-27) in a conference game last Friday, the Trojans went to division II Norwalk on Saturday and beat the Truckers (62-45) in non-conference play.
Coach Brett Seidel says the win over Norwalk was a solid team win for them. “We had a lot of kids play well and they are starting to understand their roles and really embrace them. I obviously have some really good players and they played well and the role players as well played very hard and played well as well. All of that combined into us kind of closing it out at the end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We were able to spread them at the end of the game when they were trying to take the ball our of Simon’s (Blair) hands, which is very tough to do. The kids executed and made the extra pass for layups.”
South Central (14-2,9-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, hosts Crestview (3-12,1-9) on Friday night. The Cougars lost (79-47) to Western Reserve last Friday. They beat Loudonville (66-58) in a none-conference game on Tuesday night.
However, in the first meeting with South Central they were very competitive. The Trojans won (62-56) on December 20.
Seidel says they had a real chance at the upset. “They definitely had a shot to win going down the stretch and it wasn’t like they overcame a deficit or anything. It was tight the whole game. They came out ready to play and made shots from all over the floor throughout the entire game. Simon fouls out at the end of the game and they had a chance to win. Obviously, with it being our only game of the weekend, they are going to get our full attention,” said Seidel.
When it comes to Friday night, Seidel says it may help them that the first game with Crestview was so tight. “I think our kids our focused right now. We went through a stretch of games when we weren’t. I’m not saying that was one of them, but we went through a stretch of games that we weren’t that focused as a whole. I think it was almost good that they did play with us for 32 minutes. They are going to get our full attention for 32 minutes this game,” he said.
Published 1/29/20
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South Central With Eyes on Plymouth
South Central remains a game behind Norwalk St. Paul in the Firelands Conference race and they host Plymouth in a conference game on Friday night.
They also play at Norwalk in a non-conference game on Saturday night.
The Trojans have now won three straight games after losing they only two this season back to back to St. Paul and Lucas. They beat New London (65-52) last Thursday and Mapleton (70-44) on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are back to playing pretty good basketball. “There is some resiliency and you have to bounce back throughout the season. There are times of not playing well. It is hard to keep kids motivated game in and game out through a four mouth season. I thought we ran into some pretty good teams, obviously the “AP” thinks so was well, them being number one and number four in the state currently. Since then, I’m not saying we have played prefect,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We have gotten better in some of the small details of the game. We are still working on communication and ironing out a few other details. We really haven’t clicked and put it all together as far as perimeter shooting, scoring on the inside, transition, the whole deal together. We haven’t done it all in the same game.”
South Central (12-2,8-1) plays host to Plymouth (7-7,3-6) on Friday night. The Big Red rallied to beat Crestview (59-58) last Thursday and lost (75-49) at Western Reserve on Saturday. In their first meeting with the Big Red, South Central won (63-39) on December 14.
Seidel says they know the Big Red will be fired up to play them. “We are expecting them to be ready to play, but I’m expecting my kids to be ready to play. Obviously, it is a rivalry game, so any kind of records are thrown out the window. They played us really tough for a half over there and we are expecting them to come out ready to play on Friday night,” he said.
Of course, there are rematches with Western Reserve and Norwalk St. Paul looming ahead, but the Trojans have Plymouth this week and Crestview next before they get there. Seidel says they have to be thinking about Plymouth and only them and then Crestview. “Both of those teams played us well on the road and now we are at home against them. That is our focus right now, just one game ay a time. Our focus right now is Plymouth and Plymouth alone. Yes, we are at Norwalk on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean anything for the conference race, so our focus is Plymouth,” he said.
Norwalk (8-5) awaits the Trojans on Saturday night and Seidel says that will be a big test for them. “We have played a couple of division two schools. We played a really good Triway team at a neutral site. We played at Norwalk last year. We have to play at Norwalk this year and next year as well. It is always on the road at Norwalk. I don’t think we are going to sneak up on them, especially since I see they don’t even have a game until us. I know they are going to be really well prepared for us. It will be a good test and challenge for us, but again out focus is with Plymouth,” said Seidel.
Published 1/22/20
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South Central Plays New London a Second Time
South Central trails Norwalk St. Paul by a game in the Firelands Conference standings as teams begin the second half of the double round robin this week.
The Trojans play at New London on Thursday and at Mapleton on Saturday night.
Last Friday, they downed Monroeville (67-49) in conference play and coach Brett Seidel says there were pretty good and got back to some of the things they were doing before a two game losing streak coming into the Monroeville game. “For the most part we played well. There were still some errors and things that we have to correct as we start the second half of the season I think that is going to be our measuring stick,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We kind of got complacent with our competitiveness and doing the little things like boxing out and playing inside, out basketball and trying to get the ball in the paint as much as we can. We got away from those things at both ends and I think that is going to be our measuring stick going forward.”
South Central (10-2,6-1) plays at New London (4-8,3-4) in a conference game on Thursday night. New London lost to Western Reserve (79-41) last Thursday. The Wildcats have won four of their last six overall. South Central won the first time they played (54-42) at their place.
In their second meeting often times teams, especially if they lost the first time, might try something different. However, Seidel believes New London will stick with their zone. “I would expect New London to play predominately zone because it did work pretty well the first time we played them. They played that kind of float 2-2-1 soft press and back into a 2-3. We didn’t handle it per say for the most part. They were affective in it, so I expect to see that again,” he said.
Dane Held is in his first year as head coach at New London and Seidel says they are clearly getting better. “Dane does a great job. I knew that from the first time we played them that they were going to get better because you always know they are going to play hard and that’s what they do. They have won four of the last six I believe and they are playing hard for 32 minutes no matter the score. Obviously with that they are practicing hard. If you are practicing hard and you are playing hard you are going to get better and they have,” said Seidel.
Published 1/14/20
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South Central Needs to Fight Back
South Central only trails Firelands Conference leader Norwalk St. Paul by a game and there are eight league games left to play, but their home game with Monroeville on Friday night seems pretty significant.
They need to win it.
South Central had won its first nine games before losing (69-66) in overtime to St. Paul last Friday and then being buried by Lucas (70-54) in a non-conference game on Tuesday.
Coach Brett Seidel says on those nights the other guys were just better than them. “We are at the halfway point and looking back on the schedule I knew that that four games stretch with Triway, Western, St. Paul and Lucas where going to be difficult to navigate through over the holidays. I just knew that the ruggedness with having to play four very good teams and four very good coaches is a lot to ask out of a teenager. We went to St. Paul and just felt St. Paul played really well, shot really well and played really well and got beat. I thought we had a chance at the end of regulation to win and a chance at the end of overtime to tie,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We go down to Lucas and it was basically the result of one quarter. It ballooned on us, they got out and ran on us and we didn’t get back. We took bad shots, which led to that. Lots of little things led to them blowing us out. Frankly, they were that much better that night.”
South Central (9-2,5-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, hosts Monroeville (7-3,4-2) on Friday night. The Eagles lost (69-53) to Western Reserve last Friday, but got back on the winning track with a (68-59) win over Kansas Lakota in a non-conference game on Tuesday.
Seidel says confidence has led to this being the best Monroeville team in quite a while. “Confidence goes a long way. When you start stringing some wins together. I think they are 7-3. That starts getting the kids more interested and when the kids are more interested it start to change your culture and you start believing. That’s what I see as far as their program. What I see on film is they have some skilled kids that are coming for sure. He is playing a lot of kids that can play. He is playing a lot of numbers. The kids are starting to believe in it. You can start to see the change taking place,” said Seidel.
Plus, Seidel says Monroeville is much more than leading scorer Isaac Roeder. “They hit 10 threes Tuesday night and he didn’t have one of them. They hit 10 threes around him and he can play in the middle. That makes you a lot more difficult to guard when you can make perimeter shots and have an interior presence like him,” he said.
Published 1/10/20
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South Central and St. Paul for the Lead
Co-leaders South Central and Norwalk St. Paul lock horns Friday night in the Firelands Conference and to the winner goes sole possession of the lead.
The Trojans beat defending champion Western Reserve (56-49) last Friday night.
Coach Bret Seidel says they got a solid job off their bench and that was the difference. “The second quarter where we were in foul trouble. For us being able to maintain. We didn’t really stretch it out, we gave up maybe two points as far as margin. For us to maintain that lead during the second quarter was I thought was really big and for us to respond to their beginning run of the second half. To respond with a couple of big threes and a post up from David I thought were the big pieces of the game for us. I think it comes down to some role players,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I think if you would have asked Chris (Sheldon) or even me before the game if they held Simon (Blair) to 10 and David (Lamoreaux) to four and for us to win speaks volumes about kids like Blane Wheeler and Jackson McCormack and Sam Seidel and the others. Evan Legg hit a big shot. Those types of kids stepped up and made big shots and made plays for us.”
South Central also beat Wooster Triway (55-53) on December 21. Seidel says they have handled this stretch of tough games well so far. “We have had a pretty good stretch here of really good teams and we have Lucas looming in the future as well. This four game stretch was going to be a grind over the holidays trying to manage sleep and practice and no school amongst four really good teams and really good coaches. We are trying to do something the kids want to do. What happens Friday is up to them and how they take advantage of their opportunity. St. Paul is a really good team, really well coached. We are looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
South Central (9-0,5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Norwalk St. Paul (7-0,5-0), #3 in our poll, on Friday night.
Seidel says the Flyers can spread the floor. “I think they are balanced. They have the (Jordan) Shephard kid in the interior that finishes around the rim. He is leading our league in field goal percentage. The (Winslow) twins are really good on perimeter. The (Brandon) Furlong kid stretches the defense and the (Scotty) Adelman kid is able to run the show and really distributes the ball well. They have five pieces that all complement each other. They don’t care who gets the credit. They are playing really well, really confident. That is what we have seen live and on film. They are all about the size, 6’2”, 6’3”, in that range,” said Seidel.
On Friday night, Seidel says ball handling and rebounding are going to be huge. “It is going to come down to taking care of the basketball and rebounding, that’s just my opinion. You have to take care of the basketball and you have to be able to rebound on both ends of the floor. Those are two crucial parts of the game. Offensively, getting to the free throw line. Sometimes the shot doesn’t travel with you on the road, but your defense has got to. We have to try and get the ball to the front of the rim. Defensively, we have to try and limit their second shot attempts,” said Seidel.
Published 1/01/20
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South Central has to be Clicking on Offense
South Central, a co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays host to defending champion Western Reserve, a game back, a huge game in the conference on Friday night.
The Trojans are coming off an impressive (55-53) win over Wooster Triway at the College of Wooster of Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel was impressed by his team’s play. “I thought we guarded really well basically throughout. At the beginning the game our shot selection kind of led to run outs for them and that is kind of how we gave up 20 in the first quarter. We settled in offensively and I thought our effort defensively for the entire game, to guard a team of that caliber, was really good,” he said.
Seidel hopes they can take some momentum from that win into Friday’s game with Western Reserve. “Western is very similar to Triway, Triway might be little more physical and aggressive, but I think they are very similar with skill and athletes. We are hoping we can kind of do the same thing,” he said.
South Central (8-0,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at home against, Western Reserve (6-1,3-1) on Friday.
Seidel believes the Roughriders might get a boost from the return of one of their better players from injury. “I am thinking that (J.J.) Wisenbeger might be back, I not positive, I have that heard that, and figured he probably would be. They are deep they are skilled. They have (Luke) Rowlinson, who is averaging 25 a game, so they have some kids that are really, really hard to guard. We going to have to have a team effort to shut everybody down,” said Seidel.
What about tempo of the game? Seidel says they both want to play fast. He says it will be a lot about offensive efficiency. “I think both teams are similar in style. I think we both kind of want to play up tempo. There are times when we can play the half court game as well. I like that about us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We are not completely efficient yet offensively. I think our effort has been pretty good defensively, but offensively we are still not there yet. So, hopefully, we can come out (Friday) night and be efficient offensively and get a little better.”
Now, Western Reserve dropped a game behind South Central and Norwalk St. Paul when the Flyers beat Western (65-59) last week. Seidel that probably gives Western a sense of urgency. “We talked years ago looking at our junior high program that is was going to kind of be a seven year war between us. We know it’s a big game and they know it’s a big game regardless of what happened with them against St. Paul it was going to be a big game no matter what. But they are probably feeling a little more pressed to respond,” he said.
Published 12/27/19
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South Central Looking Right at Crestview
South Central, one of three leaders in the Firelands Conference, plays at Crestview on Friday night against the Cougars in a conference game.
Last week, the Trojans beat Mapleton (63-28) and Plymouth (63-39) in a double weekend of conference games.
Coach Brett Seidel says they took care of business. “A double conference weekend is always tough. Kids are kind of Christmas break mode. They are kind of done being practice time, they want to play games and that’s it, so keeping them focused during prep is hard, but I thought the kids played hard both nights, for the most part we executed both nights. We had a couple of kids down in the fist half against Plymouth and I thought some other kids really stepped up and carried the load for us,” said Seidel.
The always anticipated matchup with Western Reserve looms next week and the Trojans play a very good Wooster Triway on Saturday at the College of Wooster, but Seidel says they have been working all week on the Cougars. “I have said numerous times that Crestview is our only focus. Triway is a very, very good team, they are picked to win their league, a good division II opponent for us, a good challenge for us, and a good atmosphere,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “That doesn’t mean anything in terms of seedings and it doesn’t mean anything in terms of conference standings. Our only focus again is one game at a time. When Crestview is over and if we are fortunate enough to win, we will focus on Triway.”
South Central (6-0,3-0), #3 in the first Swankonsports.com basketball coaches poll of the season in the small school division, visits Crestview (1-4,0-3) on Friday. The Cougars lost to Norwalk St. Paul (60-42) and Western Reserve (91-52) last week.
Seidel says they have some guys that can be problematic for the Trojans. “They have a great player in Hamilton. The Kuhn kid is really good. The Richmond kid at 6’7” presents problems in the post. We know that they are going to play extremely hard. They are probably going to extend some zones at us. Maybe see a little junk on Simon (Blair.) That is the way we are preparing for it. That is the only game we are preparing for right now is Crestview,” said Seidel.
Published 12/19/19
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South Central’s Focus is on Mapleton
Many times double weekends can play big role in who wins conference championships and it is one of those weekends in the Firelands Conference.
For South Central, they host Mapleton on Friday and travel around the corner to Plymouth on Saturday night.
Last Friday, the opened the conference schedule with a (54-42) win at home over New London.
South Central coach Brett Seidel credits Now London for playing well. “I thought New London played really hard. They played us 2-3 zone and we were slowed down quite a bit. I thought they had some kids step up and play really well. Jamil Arnold surprised us and he was really good around the hoop. We didn’t shoot it great, but that was a testament to their defense. I thought they play hard and were really well coached,” he said.
South Central (4-0,1-0) plays at home against Mapleton (0-3,0-1) on Friday night. The Mounties fell to Western Reserve in their conference opener (75-38) last Friday and then lost a tough one by a point (46-45) to Loudonville on Saturday night in non-conference play.
Seidel says this is another team that is going to play them hard and that they can not take lightly. “I have seen them on film and I saw them live at Western Reserve. They are going to play hard regardless of the score. They are competitive. They have some kids that can make shots. They have a big kid in (Travis) Debois down low. My kids as experienced as they are they know we can not take anybody lightly, especially when everybody is kind of out to get us anyway,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Our focus right now is just one game at a time. I thought we kind of lost sight of that, I not trying to take anything away from New London, but we kind of got complacent there. We got up 20 in that game. Again, not taking anything away from coach Held and their team and their effort that night, I was not happy with our execution down the stretch.”
Plymouth (3-0,1-0) awaits on Saturday night, but Seidel says the Big Red has not even entered their mind yet. “Our biggest emphasis right now is not looking ahead, not taking anything for granted, not taking any play for granted, that is kind of what we have tried to implore on the kids that we have to do it one possession at a time, one night at a time, one play at a time. Our focus is Mapleton right now and that is it,” he said.
Published 12/11/19
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South Central Faces Old Rival New London
South Central’s goal this season is to win the Firelands Conference title and return the trophy to southern Huron County. The process beings on Friday night at home against New London.
The Trojans have won non-conference games against Mansfield St. Peter’s, Buckeye Central and Clear Fork and coach Brett Seidel says clearly their focus is now on the Wildcats. “You have to take it one game at a time. (Tuesday) night was the most important game to us because it was right in front of us and we were trying to get our kids to stay in the moment. We are trying to get better each and every day out. So, Friday is our first conference game and in order to achieve the goal of winning the league or at least competing for a league title we have to take care of every game in league,” said Seidel.
With Western Reserve as good as they are, Seidel says you can’t afford any slip ups if you expect to contend for the league title. “You don’t want to bury yourself right away because now you are chasing. We all know that Western is the odds on favorite being the defending champ and everybody back. Until you get somebody that is able to knock them off you have to keep pace with them,” he said.
New London (0-2) lost both their games on the opening weekend in losing to Edison (58-55) and Wellington (67-48) for new coach Dane Held.
Seidel knows the Wildcats are going to come out and be after it right away. “I have seen them on film. It is kind of exactly like I thought, they play extremely hard and they are going to be really well coached and disciplined. Dane was a very good, disciplined player that played for Tommy Howell and his dad helped during those years. His dad is a very disciplined coach and he is doing a nice job helping Dane. They play hard for the entire game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “On every possession you are going to get all five guys getting after it on both ends of the floor. That is kind of what we expect. It makes them very competitive. The (Grant) Heileman kid is a nice player and they have some nice pieces that are coming along beside him. Some younger kids that are really contributing in a hurry.”
Published 12/05/19
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Blair Gives South Central Win over Clear Fork in Overtime
Simon Blair’s three pointer from the top of the key with :03 seconds left gave South Central a (55-53) win over Clear Fork in overtime at Les Hauenstein Gymnasium on Tuesday night in non-conference action.
Clear Fork led (53-50) with :39 seconds left in OT after two free throws by Ethan Delaney, but Blair cut the deficit to one (53-52) with two charity tosses with :18 seconds remining.
Blair was spectacular all night with a game high 31 points.
His coach Brett Seidel says he has never seen him better. “I wanted him to take the shot in regulation, I wanted him to take the shot twice, I thought he was really unselfish (Tuesday) night for having 31, he was very efficient. It was probably the best game that I have ever seen him play,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Just decision making, he made every right decision, every right play, and he made a ton of shots as well. He guarded too. I usually don’t like to single out guys and he knows that, but my entire hat is off to Simon Blair.”
Clear Fork coach Steven Bechtel says they threw everything at Blair defensively to no avail. “Individually that was a tough guard for us. We tried to run somebody at him and he would still beat that. He is a spectacular player. I told him it is really fun to watch a player like that. It is not so fun to have to prepare and try to stop him. Hats off to them, they made the plays down at the end to come up with the win,” said Bechtel.
It was a tightly contested game throughout with 12 ties and 13 lead changes during the game. The largest lead was five, accomplished by both teams. The Colts scored the first five points in the game and led (5-0) with 5:09 left in the first quarter on a free throw by Delaney. South Central scored the first five of the overtime period and led (50-45) with 2:11 left in the extra period after a Blair basket. The Colts would then go on their own eight point run to take that (53-50) led with :39 seconds left.
Clear Fork had the final shot of regulation, but Brennan South missed about a 25 footer for the win. “We got a decent look. We had one of our better players with the basketball there at the end. He took a wide open look, he just missed it. It is just one of those situations where I trust Brennan with the basketball a lot. He tired to make a play there at the end. We just came up short on that one,” said Bechtel.
Delaney led Clear Fork with 16 points on Tuesday night.
Blair was district player of the year last year in division IV, but Seidel says he has reached a new level this season. “I don’t know if the commit thing if that is off his back. He just really cares. He cares a whole lot about his teammates. He cares a whole lot about his program and his school district. He loves to win, he hates to lose. Tuesday night he put us on his back and he carried us,” he said.
Blair has signed a letter of intent to play at Malone University in Canton.
South Central (3-0) played without senior Isaiah Seidel, who injured his ankle against Buckeye Central on Saturday night and is likely to miss at least two weeks of action.
His dad says they missed his toughness against Clear Fork. “What Isaiah brings is his defense and toughness. That leadership of grit that he brings to the floor is what we miss. If he scores that is icing, but the grit and the toughness that he brings. We missed it (Tuesday) night, but I thought we guarded okay. They had a couple of kids step up and make some shots as well in the second half and overtime. We had a kid that made one more than them,” said Seidel.
Both coaches said a game like this will benefit them in the long run.
Seidel says they were matched up with a more a bigger and more athletic team. “Good teams on the road, well coached, bigger, athletic kids, it pushes your standard. We had to have some kids step up and I thought they did. I thought Blaine Wheeler was solid all over the floor. Jack McCormack gave us good minutes. Evan Legg hit a big three down the stretch. David Lamoreaux had a big second half for us, but at the same time it all comes down to number 1. He carried us,” he said.
South Central qualified for the division IV regional last year and Bechtel says the game had a tournament like feel to it. “This why we played them. This is why I was up to playing them. We don’t see them in the tournament, but it is that type of team. They are good, they are going to score, defend really, really well. It was fun,” he said.
Published 12/04/19
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South Central Not Taking Things For Granted
South Central has been part of two Firelands Conference titles in the last three years and advanced to the regional tournament in division IV last season, but this is a new year.
They have four starters returning in district player of the year Simon Blair, Isaiah Seidel, Sam Seidel and David Lamoreaux, all with the ability to put up big numbers.
They open the season this weekend by hosting Mansfield St. Peter’s on Friday and Buckeye Central on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are ready to get things started. “I think the kids are chomping at the bit to play a game. Because of their experience they have kind of been through this whole preseason grind. They really aren’t interested in practices or scrimmages anymore, they are ready to play some games. I think the kids have put enough time in in the off season and over those last four years our seniors are ready to go,” he said.
Yes, the Trojans have enjoyed success and yes, they do return a lot of players, but Seidel says they can take nothing for granted. “Everybody is telling me we have a lot back and since we had such success last year it should translate to this year. It doesn’t go 45 years between district championships if it was that easy. There have been a lot of great players and a lot of great teams come through here coached by a lot of great people. It just doesn’t happen. It is something that is special,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We have goals and dreams of getting back to the regional and farther is definitely there and present, but the way we are trying to handle expectations and the pressures of past success is just one day at a time and not trying to look at outcomes, just trying to get better each day. Each game that comes is the most important to us and that is just how we are kind of facing things.”
Mansfield St. Peter’s comes calling on Friday night Seidel knows they are going to be well prepared and offer up a challenge to his team. “They have great tradition throughout the history of their program. They are very well coached. They are going to be really well prepared on Friday night. They return some very key lettermen from last year’s team with a lot of experience and play with a lot of confidence. The first game is kind of always unknown even with experienced teams about how kids are going to respond to know roles, just the pressures of a new season beginning and all of that you never know what is going to happen. We are obviously getting things tuned up and we know they are going to be ready, so we are going to come as ready as possible. I know their kids are going to bring energy and play hard,” said Seidel.
Published 11/27/19
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South Central With Solid Team Back
Nothing new, there are high expectations with the South Central boys’ basketball team this year.
They were (21-5) last year and finished as Firelands Conference runners-up and lost to the division IV regional semifinals last season.
Coach Brett Seidel says that was last year. “That is what we are kind of trying to deal with as a team. We obviously recognize what we have back and what we did last year, but last year is last year. We are saying last year means nothing. We lost some toughness and some grit and some important pieces and we are trying to fill those gaps with different guys. That is the evaluation process right now during scrimmages and seeing where everybody fits in,” he said.
There is no question the talent is there and Seidel says they key players have improved there game as well. “Obviously, we have the big three that are back. Simon Blair (21.0 PPG) goes without mentioning, but I’m going to mention him. He just signed his national letter of intent to Malone (Wednesday.) He puts countless hours into it. Him getting better probably goes unnoticed because he is so good already, but he does put hours into the gym. David Lamoreaux (13.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG) has gotten a lot bigger and stronger and better. My oldest son Isaiah (9.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG) has put a lot of time in the gym because he is already committed to playing baseball (at Ashland) and he has put a little more time into basketball than we was before, he was putting it all into baseball. We are expecting a little better season from him this year. My youngest son Sam has put a significant time in as well. Those two don’t really have a choice when their dad is the coach they don’t have a choice,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We are expecting Evan Legg, Jackson McCormack and Blaine Wheeler to kind of round out the rotation and then there are a few that are knocking on the door in freshmen Isaac Blair, Trey Beverley is a sophomore and Kaden Hauler id a sophomore and we have a couple of seniors as well that are going to be great for the locker room in Jay Cook and Timmy Jayes. We are just trying to feel our way through here. We have a lot of kids that have put a lot of time in, we are very fortunate.”
The regular season starts November 29 for the Trojans at home against Mansfield St. Peter’s. Seidel says for him it can’t get here soon enough. “I had to have my assistants remind me of that (Tuesday) night. We started off our scrimmage pretty good and then we kind of got tired and did some things that are out of character, but they reminded me that for the football kids it is only day four for them, try to have a little more patience with the process here. With the expectations and the experience I’m wanting it now, I’m wanting it to be perfect now. Obviously, that is the life of a coach, you are just never happy. If you do become content you don’t get better, that’s kind of where I’m at. I think the way we facing expectations it’s just trying to get better one day at a time,” said Seidel.
Published 11/14/19
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South Central Wants to Send Seniors off the Right Way
South Central meets New London in a rivalry game to conclude their season Friday night in Firelands Conference play.
They have lost their last four games, including (52-39) last week to Plymouth in a conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they just couldn’t consistently get stops. “Their offense was effective enough. We couldn’t get a stop when we needed it. We had guys there to make tackles, but we just did not make those plays and they did, so you give credit to them. That is something we have talked about all year long is being consistent and we weren’t consistent enough again on Friday night to beat a good football team. That’s what happens when you get in the Firelands Conference, especially this year. It’s as tough as I have ever seen it and you are going to have to be consistent if you are going to beat these teams and the same thing this week,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (4-5,2-4) plays at New London (1-8,1-5) on Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a (42-7) pasting from Norwalk St. Paul.
Fickiesen says they know the Wildcats are going to try and throw it and as they try and throw it, New London will blitz. “They try and spread it out. They go empty quite a bit with Peyton Wilson back there at quarterback. He has obviously got a good arm, baseball guy. They have some athletes out there around him that they like to throw the ball too. We are fairly similar in that aspect. We both like to throw the ball a little bit. It’s going to come down defensively, who can get some stops and you can get some pressure. They like to blitz a ton. We know they are going to bring some pressure. Who can be consistent on offense in completing passes and then making plays when they present themselves,” he said.
Unfortunately, South Central hasn’t won any of those 50/50 games this year, hence their record. Fickiesen says a win Friday would be a big boost to them. “I think some of our underclassmen are going to have that sour taste regardless, but this is going to lessen it a lot. Our seniors deserve, for as much time and work they have put in in trying to continue to change this culture they deserve to go out on the right note. Everyone in the state that is playing a final game this weekend is saying the same thing about their seniors, so it comes down to if you can be consistent enough,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Who is going to come out and battle. Our kids have had a good week of practice. (Wednesday) it rained the whole time and we were able to get out there and have a little bit of fun in it and enjoy it. We have also had a good attitude about this week and a focus and a good preparation. So, we are excited about one more opportunity with this team and this group before the season ends. Hopefully, we will go out in the right way.”
Published 11/01/19
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South Central Has to Cash in
South Central takes its act to Plymouth for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, was a similar tune, the Trojans moved the ball, but couldn’t punch it in the end zone enough in a (21-7) loss to Crestview.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says everybody, and most notably him, has to do a better job in the red zone. “When you look at our last three opponents and they have a combined loss total of four. You can’t go into those kinds of games and expect to beat people when you get down in the red zone over, over and over again and you don’t put the ball in there and score points. Just like the previous two weeks, we moved the ball really well, but we just weren’t able to punch it in when we needed too. A lot of different things go into that, but as a coach I am going to take a lot of that on me. I have to sure up play calling and make sure we are in the right situations when we need to be. You get another chance at it this week against a 6-2 Plymouth team. So, you get to go prove yourself again,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (4-4,2-3) is at Plymouth (6-2,3-2) for a Firelands Conference on Friday night. The Big Red beat Monroeville (42-28) in a conference game last Friday.
Fickiesen says Plymouth has been doing some different things this year, but he says they are going to be true to their nature. “We have gotten to see them a couple of times this year in conference games we get some film when we aren’t necessarily watching them. In some games they try to do some other things to toy with it, but when you get down to it double tight, double wing, toss iso, power, whatever you want to call it, dive, is what they do. That is who they are and that is what they are good at. They will throw in a little bit of a joker, a counter play, in there to go with it. You have to stop that if you want to beat them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “If you don’t, they are going to keep running it right down your throat. Some of the other kids that they have are pretty impressive. You talk about both of their running backs, the Montgomery kid is not as big as the ones they have had the past couple of years, but he runs as hard as those kids did. The Stephens kid used to play for Willard, so we got to see him last year in person, and he is very athletic. He played receiver of there. That is the kind of athleticism he brings. Then their quarterback is obviously phenomenal. Walker Elliot is everywhere at safety and then offensively he does run the ball every once in a while and if you let him get out in space, he can make plays.”
Fickiesen says Plymouth will throw it and you have to be ready for that, but still you have to stop the run. “They will try and throw it around and throw you off guard and pass it once or twice here or there, but when it comes down to it they want to run the football right up the middle and you have to be able to stop it,” he said.
Published 10/25/19
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South Central Has to Continue to Fight
South Central looks to end a two-game losing streak on Friday night as the Trojans host Crestview in a Firelands Conference game.
Last Saturday, they were handled by conference co-leader Norwalk St. Paul (49-6) at Whitney Field.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they did some good things, but not enough of them. “There were times in the game where we felt like we played well. We moved the ball. We just didn’t score it like we needed to. Once our defense settled in, they are a really good football team, so you kind of take the things that you did well and maybe in other games it wouldn’t feel as well. They have two really good running backs that hurt us all night, so we have to sure up our run defense because we are going to see the same thing this week. Offensively, we ran the ball a little bit better than we had the previous couple of weeks, but we still had some dropped passes and some other little things and scoring when we get closer to the red zone and things like that that we have to continue to clean up and get better at,” said Fickiesen.
Scoring in the red zone has been a concern in recent weeks. Fickiesen says they just have to more consistent in their execution. “It has the last two weeks, especially. When you play against a really good team, teams like Western and St. Paul, and you get down there, you have got to score, you have got to convert it. The field is a little shorter, things are more compact and you have to buckle down a little bit more and block a little bit better and those kinds of things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Just be more consistent, whether it be a few penalties here and there that took us out of the red zone or dropped passes or a missed block. Whatever it was we just have not been consistent enough against really good teams, which isn’t a recipe for success. We are going to work on that this week because we are hoping that we need it.”
South Central (4-3,2-2) plays at home against Crestview (5-2,2-2) on Friday night. The Cougars were (42-7) winners over New London last week.
Crestview has a new coach in Steve Haverdill. Fickeisen says they are doing similar things. They play solid defense and do a good job running the football. “He was there the last couple of years as their defensive coordinator, so the defense looks fairly similar. Offensively, they are fairly similar to St. Paul, really that old school, run right downhill at you. It’s another week where you have to stop the run. That is a couple in a row for us. Then you turn around and they like to play a lot of man to man on defense and blitz people. They have some big kids up front. The Hill kid, number 74, he is a really good defensive lineman. On the backend they have athletes that can cover well for long periods of time. Again, we have got to be consistent on both offense and defense. We have to be able to move the ball in both the run game and the pass game on offense. Defensively, we have got to stop the run,” said Fickiesen.
There are still some goals the Trojans would like to accomplish this season and Fickiesen says they are ready to attack them. “We have talked to our kids that at this point in the year you have to make a choice, you have three games left, what do want to do with it? They have responded well. They are ready to continue to fight. Hopefully, we can compete on Friday night and see how it turns out,” he said.
Published 10/16/19
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South Central Needs Four Quarters Against St. Paul
South Central plays another outstanding team this week as they play at powerhouse Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday night in a Firelands Conference game.
They lost for the first time in conference play last week when Western Reserve knocked them off (21-7) with two second half touchdowns.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they just didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. “As we reviewed that film over the weekend and tried to clean up some of the things. In the first half we got the ball four times inside the 10 yard line and only scored on one of those. We have to sure up our red zone offense and be able to run the ball a little more affectively then we were. That is a credit to them. They have some big kids that were pretty physical. They put three or four guys in the box and they kind of handled us up front. So, we are working pretty hard up front with those guys and be able to run the ball because you have to be more balanced than what we were on Friday,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (4-2,2-1) plays at Norwalk St. Paul (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on Saturday night. The Flyers blew out Mapleton (54-6) for their 49 th conference victory in a row.
Fickiesen says the names may change, but the level of play never does with the Flyers. “John (Livengood) does a great job over there. Anyone you talk to would tell you the same thing. They have won as many games as they have for a reason. He gets the best out of his kids every single year. Every year you see them and they have some new kids in there that they didn’t have last year, but it doesn’t matter they still play really hard. They are really physical no matter their size. So, you have to try and match that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “There have been a couple of teams that have been able to at times. You saw Plymouth in the first half played well against them and Crestview in the first half played well against them. You say what you want they are still Norwalk St. Paul and you are going to have to bring it if you want a chance.”
If you are going to have a chance to beat St. Paul, Fickiesen says you have to be at the top of your game for four quarters. “He has his kids tuned up to play four quarters, they are used to that. If you let down at anytime they are going to take advantage of it and bust off a big run or a big pass or in special teams. Their defense has obviously been great this year. I don’t know if they have given up more than eight points in a game, but they have been phenomenal. It is a well coached John Livengood team like he always has,” said Fickiesen.
South Central has played a lot of good football this season, but Fickiesen says on Saturday night they have to be at their very best. “We are going to have to be very sound in every part of the game. We are going to have to be as physical as we have ever been. We are just going to have to play hard and see what comes from it,” he said.
Published 10/09/19
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South Central Excited to Play Western Reserve
South Central tangles with Western Reserve in a key game in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.
The two schools share first place with Norwalk St. Paul.
Last week, South Central outscored Mapleton (49-28) in a conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were good, but they could have been better too. “We have talked about going into games where we are the favorite and we are necessarily used to that. So, how we attack that and the things that we do, we have to keep getting better. There are things that we have to improve on, but at the end of the day you come out with a victory in the Firelands Conference, so you are happy about that. We have a tough one this week, so we are going to have to clean up a lot of things if we want to be able to compete,” he said.
South Central (4-1,2-0) hosts Western Reserve (4-1,2-0) on Friday outside of Greenwich. Western got a field goal at the horn last week to beat Plymouth (24-22) in a conference game.
The Roughriders have really run the ball well this fall, but Fickiesen says they are starting to throw it well too. “You might as well do what you are good at. Cody Benesh has 150 carries on the year and it is for a good reason, he is a really good running back. He has a really good line in front of him. Their quarterback, the (Jude) Muenz kid, is also running the ball really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “So, you start to focus on the run game because that is what they are really good at and Muenz now is starting the throw the ball really well to some of the athletes he has out there in Riley Suhr and J.J. Weisenberger and Cory Hipp. They have all kinds of guys that can make plays on the edge. So, we are going to have to be very disciplined and very sound on the defensive end if we want to be able to stop them.”
Fickiesen says Western coach Ty Stevenson has revived that program in a short time and the Roughriders are getting better on defense. “As you go throughout the year kids start to settle in. Coach (Ty) Stevenson, he does an amazing job over there, he is a great coach. You can see with where he took them from last year to this year. He has implemented the things that he wants to do and the kids are buying into that. So, they are getting a lot better on defense and it is going to be an all around test for us. We are going to have to play a very good game to be able to compete,” he said.
The winner stays in first place and Fickiesen says these are the kinds of games you want to be involved in. “I’m sure that in most people’s eyes we are considered the underdog. They past two weeks we haven’t been considered that, so that is a little bit different feeling for our kids. So, we have been talking about it all week. Getting to play a home game against a team of this caliber is why you play the sport. That is why we do it. That is why you work so hard in the off season and during two a days is to get to play in big games like this. We are just hoping we come focused and prepared and we can play to the best of our ability on (Friday) night,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/04/19
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South Central Needs Better Execution
South Central, after a last second win last week, travels to Mapleton to face the Mounties in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Quarterback Evan Legg connected with Jackson McCormick with 41 seconds left last Friday to give the Trojans a (22-14) win over Monroeville in their conference opener.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were very pleased with the win, but not so happy with their execution last week. “We weren’t super happy with how we preformed. We felt like we let a lot of things slip away. We didn’t focus on us and do the things that we needed to do and play as good as we needed to, but sometimes that happens. Give credit to Monroeville on that because they played tough. Their kids, they battled. We were proud of our kids for continuing to fight. Sometimes you have those kinds of nights. You kind of get to see what your made of and our kids just kept fighting through all of the adversity and we came out with a win, so we felt pretty good about it,” said Fickiesen.
You can bet the Trojans will be working hard on their special teams this week. Fickiesen says they can ill afford the slip ups they had against Monroeville. “The coaches and I met (Saturday) and (Sunday) and the focus was special teams. We gave up a kickoff return on the opening kick for a touchdown and they blocked a punt for a touchdown. Those were their only two scores and they were on special teams. If you don’t get those things cleaned up then it is going to be a big deal. A lot of great coaches, including Woody Hayes, say special teams will win or lose the game is close football games. Luckily, we got away with one when we didn’t play very good on special teams. It is going to be a big focus for us this week,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (3-1,1-0) plays at Mapleton (0-4,0-1) on Friday night in a conference game. Mapleton lost (32-6) to Crestview in their conference opener last Friday.
Fickiesen says the Mounties, who have a new head coach in Ray Leek, are still trying to find what they are best at and it makes them hard to prepare for. “It is hard to tell at times. They have some athletes. Obviously, there are still kids there from the last couple of years that have played on some very good teams. There is a lot of talk about who left, but there are still a lot kids left. The (Travis) DuBois kid, who was in the top two or three in the conference in tackles for loss is still there on both sides of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “The (Gage) Spurlock kid, who I think led them in interceptions the last couple of years is still there. They are still trying to find their identity. They are using a couple of different quarterbacks trying to figure out what kind of system they want to run. So, it is going to be a challenge for us identifying who’s in, where they are at.”
The bottom line, according to Fickiesen, is they need to do what they do and do a better job of execution. “It is going to come down to us taking care of our details. We have to be able to play the way we know we can. We didn’t do that this past weekend, but we are going to have to do it this week because every single night in the Firelands Conference if you don’t play very well you are going to be in a dogfight and you are going to get beat. So, we are really focused on cleaning things up and being better at being us,” he said.
Published 9/23/19
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South Central Must be Physical
South Central is in a large group of teams behind Norwalk St. Paul battling for position in the Firelands Conference this fall.
Their first test comes Friday night as they host the Monroeville Eagles.
Last Friday, they lost their first game of the season (30-0) to LaGrange Keystone in a game that went two quarters due to weather problems.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they made the kind of mistakes you can not afford to make against a good team. “Obviously it did not end like we wanted with the weather and everything else. They made three big plays against us that resulted in three costly scores. We felt like we competed. We felt like we made a lot of mistakes and they capitalized on those mistakes, you have to give credit to them. You can’t make mistakes like that against a good football team or they are going to take advantage of it. Three turnovers for us and they hit on three blown coverages and that made the score what it was. We didn’t want to lose, but it happened and it is out of the way. Now, we are kind of regrouping and focusing on the Firelands Conference because we have one heck of a test against Monroeville in our first game,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (2-1,0-0) hosts Monroeville (1-2,0-0) on Friday night in conference play. The Eagles dropped a game to Margaretta (35-12) last week.
Fickiesen says reports are that Monroeville is a little down this year, he knows they have rarely beaten the Eagles over the years and this looks like another solid Monroeville team to him. “You can make it what you want with their scores the last couple of weeks and whatever people are saying with their lower numbers, but it is still Monroeville. They are going to line up and do what they do. They are going to run the ball right at you and if you can’t stop it you are in for a long night. Once you start conference play everyone is starting back at 0-0. All bets are off,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “You better gear it up every week or else you are going to get beat. It just so happens we have a pretty good, big, physical team here to start it off. So, it is going to take a pretty good effort from us for us to beat them. We are going to have to have a good week of practice this week and we are going to have to get after it again.”
Monroeville prefers to be a power running team and Fickiesen says they are going to keep it on the ground until they prove they can stop them. “If you are successful at something, and that’s what you do, and if someone can’t stop you, you just keep doing it, so we are going to have to be able to stop the run and we are going to have to be able to run the ball. We know in this game the winning team is going to be the one that controls the line of scrimmage on both sides. So, we are just going to have to button it up a little bit tighter and be a little more physical this week that we have the past couple and we will see how it ends up on Friday night,” he said.
Published 9/17/19
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South Central With Biggest Test of the Season
South Central has looked outstanding so far this season, but their test on Friday night at Keystone, will be their toughest of the season so far.
Keystone is the biggest and deepest team they have played.
They scored five times in the first quarter last week and went on to punish Oberlin (48-12) last Friday.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were able to get a lot of kids into the game. “There were areas that we got better and some other areas where we saw we still need to improve. We came out pretty hot. They fumbled on the second play from scrimmage and we were able to capitalize. We just continued to keep going from there. We had a lot of kids that played pretty well. We were able to rest some kids getting an early lead like that, that’s always nice. Some other kids were able to fill in there and get some varsity experience. We did get better at areas, but there are still areas we have got to get better at.” Said Fickiesen.
Keystone (1-1) beat Cloverleaf (29-21) last week after losing to Bay Village (26-20) on week one.
Fickiesen says this is an impressive team that features some big time players. “They are D-4. They are the real deal. They are 1-1 right now, but when you look at their schedule they lost to Bay Village and they just beat Cloverleaf, so two quality opponents that they have played already. Honestly, they should have beat Bay Village after watching the film. Their quarterback is phenomenal. Jacob Schackelford is very athletic and can hurt you with his feet and his arm. He has some nice receivers to throw to. His brother (Ryne) looked pretty good last week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “The biggest thing is they are big up front and their running backs run extremely hard, Number 40, Naylor, is quick, but he is big was well, he can do a little bit of everything, and he has two kids right behind him that they shop in and out that are also very good running backs. So, defensively we are going to have our hands full and a lot of those kids are playing defense as well. They are big and athletic and it is going to be a big test for us.”
Fickiesen says their play has to be much better because this is the best team they have seen yet this season. “They are sound all of the way around, not that the other two teams weren’t, but these guys are bigger, they have some depth at different spots, it is going to be a big test for us. We have tried to just focus on us this week and get better fixing some of the things we need fix. Hopefully, we are going to go over there and give it our best shot and see how it turns out,” he said.
Published 9/13/19
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Trojans Face Athletic Oberlin
South Central, coming off a win on week one, will play host to the Oberlin Phoenix, a new opponent on their schedule, in a non-conference game on Friday night.
They hammered Willard (46-14) in their first game of the season last week, rolling up 370 total yards in the process.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they were ready to play last week, but they still have things to work on. “You are always happy to get a win on week one when there are a lot of things that you are unsure about. You have some new kids taking some different spots. Jut special teams in general. How are you going to approach an actual game? Obviously, there are a lot things we can work on and that is what we are going to try and focus on this week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Those little mistakes that we do have against your next opponent and the ball doesn’t end up bouncing the right way for you, you might end up losing. So, we are going to try and get those things fixed.”
Oberlin lost (54-18) to traditional power Wickliffe last Friday.
Fickiesen says watching them on film they have a lot of guys that can make explosive plays. “They are very, very athletic. Their quarterback if you let him get out in space he is going to hurt you big time. They have a couple of big, athletic wide receivers and big kids up front. All of the way around they have athletes. So, you have to stay very disciplined. You have to follow your rules because if you let any of them get outside in space it is going to be very difficult to tackle them. They line up in a 5-2 on defense at all times. There are a couple of things that we think we can take advantage of, but again their speed and athleticism scares you,” he said.
Evan Legg threw three touchdown passes last week against Willard, while the Trojans ran for more than 200 yards, 100 by Trey Beverly.
Fickiesen says must be able to win in the trenches. “They stay in that 5-2 because they are going to try and stay after you and they have some kids up front that can do that, so we are going to have to sound up front. We always talk about you are going to win or lose football games at the line of scrimmage, so this week is no different. We are going to have to protect whether we are running the football or throwing. The game is going to won up front and we are going work on that hard this week. They want to run it. So, we are going to have to do the job up front,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/04/19
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South Central Opens With Willard
South Central of the Firelands Conference hosts Willard of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.
After winning seven games for the first time in more than 30 years last season, South Central coach Corey Fickiesen says they are excited to get out on the field and see what they can do. “We are happy for it to be week one finally. You go through your spring and summer lifting. You get into the preseason and you get excited that first week. You get to test the waters with a couple of scrimmages. We have seen some good things and some things that we need to continue to work on. We had a preview game Friday night against Lakota. On offense, we were able to put up 33 points in a half, you want that, but our defense also gave up 27,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, there are some things we have done okay and there are some things that we really have to stress and work on. It really comes down to being disciplined doing your assignments every single possession, every single play and if we do that we can be okay, but we haven’t got a full four quarters look at it yet. So, it will be interesting Friday night to kind of see how our kids come out. We know they are excited to finally be out there on the field on Friday night under the lights. We are excited to see how it goes.”
Fickiesen says they need to be more fundamental as a football team. He likes their aggressiveness, but they need to know where they are supposed to be to make the play. “The game of football from when it started to whenever it ends will always be if you can block and if you can tackle you are probably going to be successful. So, those are two of the things we are trying to get a lot better at. We just missed some assignments. We just had guys who were out of position. Some of that was aggressiveness, which you are okay with early on. The being a little too aggressive and putting themselves out of position. Those are things we can fix and that is what I like. We are going to have to get them fixed before Friday night because we are playing a pretty good football team,” he said.
Willard is led by athletic quarterback Cooper Parrott and Fickiesen says he is a big play ready to happen. “I think just about anyone you ask is going to know the name Cooper Parrott because he is a nice quarterback, one of the best we will face all year long, probably one of the best in the area. He can hurt you with his arm. He can hurt you with his feet. He can get out of the pocket and throw the ball deep. He has a great arm. He lost some guys around him, but they have had a couple of new kids join. They still have some athletes running around out there for him to throw the ball to. They have some good big kids up front that are physical at times. There is a lot to be worried about there. We are preparing to come out Friday night and compete as hard as we can and we will see what happens with it,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/28/19
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South Central Looking for Better Season
South Central won seven football games last year for the first time in nearly 40 years and this season their goal is to be a better football team than they were last year and they have a chance to be just that.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they did some good things last Saturday in a scrimmage against Colonel Crawford. “We have a decent amount of kids out. We got to scrimmage someone else and that is always nice. Your kids of beat on each other for a week and a half and it is nice to go see another opponent and see where you stand. Colonel Crawford is a very good football team with a good tradition. Coach Teglovic does an amazing job over there. We took some good things away from it and some things we need to work on. That is what you want from a scrimmage as long as you get out healthy and have some things to work on you are usually good to go and that’s what happened. So, we feel pretty good about it,” said Fickiesen.
The things that impressed Fickiesen the most was he thought they were physical against a physical football team. “There are a lot of little things that we did well. The main thing that we preach to our kids is that that if we are going to reach some of the goals that we have this is the caliper of team that you have to be able to compete with. They are very physical, so the physicality aspect is what we were looking for. I felt we stood there and were just as physical as well. That is what we were happy to see,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have kids that are willing to go and play a physical game because in the Firelands Conference that is what you are going to get every single night. I think we found some kids, some new ones, and some that we were reassured about where they stand and what they can do.”
Last year was good for the Trojans, but Fickiesen says this year can be even better and that is their goal. “You kind of reevaluate and set goals every year. Last year, we met some of them and we didn’t meet some of them. That was kind of the challenge after last year. Yeah, it was a better season, but we are still not happy. We didn’t win the Firelands. We didn’t make the playoffs. Some of these other things that we are kind of reaching for if we want to completely turn the program around. So, they set some new goals this year. We just continue to talk about those goals and push each other in the off season and into the preseason. We have some kids that are very hungry to reach those goals. That makes it exciting as a coach when you are seeing that,” he said.
Published 8/13/19
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St. Paul Moves into Share of First
Norwalk St. Paul scored two runs in the bottom of seventh inning without the benefit of a hit and they beat South Central (3-2) to move into a share of first place in the Firelands Conference with the Trojans.
The Flyers have won the last two conference titles.
“I can’t say enough about the way the guys played and never gave up. I don’t know how many times we struck out. We just kept fighting back and that’s the mark of a good team, especially against a great team like that,” said St. Paul coach Jim Carper.
South Central was unbeaten in the conference coming into Monday. “We talked before the game and said, who is the pressure on? And they are like, them, I said so don’t forget it. You put the ball in play and good things happen,” added Carper.
With the Trojans leading (2-1) going to the bottom of the seventh, Jude Sweet earned a walk off of South Central ace Isaiah Seidel. With one out, Spencer Myers grounded one to the right side and it was misplayed by Trojan first baseman Philip Madison for an error to put runners on first and third. Kaden Maxwell then executed a safety squeeze bunt allowing Sweet to score and when the ball was thrown away at first Myers raced all the way around from first with the winning run.
South Central coach Ty Dendinger says they didn’t execute when the pressure was on. “In the game of baseball if you get out executed one time it will cost you the game. I told them this can define our season and it will be a downhill slide from here or we can learn from it, learn about execution, think about it until we get back to the school and we get ready. Our goals are still here. We have to take care of business (Tuesday) against a real good St. Paul team. Our goal is there to win the conference and we still have our tournament goal,” said Dendinger.
South Central took a (2-0) lead in the fourth when Sam Seidel doubled to lead off the inning and scored on an error. Isaiah then tripled to right centerfield to drive in Madison.
The Flyers tied it to in the sixth when Gavin Starcher walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Seidel only walked two batters, but both would score. Dendinger those base on balls, especially in critical situations are bad news. “I have been doing a little stat since I have been in college. 82 percent of leadoff walks that I have been involved with score, especially late in games. We expected them to put some pressure on us,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We don’t make a play at first. Given the opportunity with a guy on third and less than two outs and they executed well. You have to give them credit. Their pitcher pitched a heck of a game and kept them in the baseball game even though with two runs it seemed like it was almost over, but you can never stop against a good team like that.”
Norwalk St. Paul (15-7,12-1) is at South Central (15-4,10-1) on Tuesday, weather permitting and Carper says they will have to do all over again. “We worked hard and (Tuesday) is another day. I am sure (Simon) Blair is going to pitch and so we have to be ready for that one too,” he said.
After six wins, it was Seidel’s first loss of the season. He struck out 15 and allowed only three hits, but St. Paul’s Jake Griffin was outstanding too. He fanned 10 and allowed six hits, three of them by Sam Seidel.
Carper says he was tremendous and they baked him up pretty too. “He did a heck of a job. He threw 115, but I kept asking him are you okay? He said don’t pull me out. I said, okay, if you hit 129 we are pulling you out. Defensively, I was really proud of us. I think we had one error that I can recall. Playing a team like South Central everything gets magnified, luckily we were able to minimize what they were doing,” said Carper.
Published 5/07/19
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Colonel Crawford Downs Firelands Conference Leader
Colonel Crawford scored on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth inning and that proved to be the difference in the Eagles (3-2) win over South Central in a non-conference baseball game played on Thursday afternoon at Sports Force Park in Sandusky.
Brock Ritzhaupt scored from third on a wild pitch to give the Eagles the lead (3-2) in the sixth.
Crawford (12-6) took a (2-0) lead on a RBI single by Drayton Burkhart in the first and a sacrifice fly by Gavin Feichtner in the third. The Trojans cut it to (2-1) on a David Lamoreaux RBI single in the bottom of the fourth. They tied it at (2-2) when Curtis Fredricks scored on a throwing error by pitcher Daylen Balliett in the bottom of the fifth.
“It was a great non league game. It was just a great win. Another one run victory. We had some adversity there and we pulled it out. They made a great play the seventh inning. I was hoping to get that insurance run there. After yesterday that was a good bounce back game,” said Colonel Crawford coach Dan Gorbett.
South Central centerfielder Curtis Fredericks threw out Dylan Cooke at home to end the top of the seventh.
The Trojans stranded eight runners, five in the last three innings, and coach Ty Dendinger says they just didn’t execute when they had too. “Our pitchers went out there and gave up three runs. I expect to win the game giving up three runs almost every game with the talent that I have. We just couldn’t find a way to wait back on a pitch and go with the pitch,” he told Swankonsports.com after the loss, “That is something we practiced (Wednesday.) We didn’t get bunts down that was practiced (Wednesday.) Specific situations that we practiced that we don’t execute and that was the difference in the game.”
Being a non-conference game neither side threw they best pitchers, but Gorbett thought his guys in Balliett and Cade Hamilton, the winner, were very good as were Vanderpool and Evan Legg of South Central. “Same thing with South Central, obviously that is not their ace either. The pitchers did a great job and both teams played great defense. It was a good baseball game,” he said.
South Central (15-3) leads the Firelands Conference standings by a game of Norwalk St. Paul. Gorbett says he enjoys tough competition. “They are going to probably be the number one seed in their district. By playing good teams always makes you better. That is what we like to do it our non-league,” he said.
Published 4/26/19
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South Central Stays in First Place
South Central continues to lead defending Firelands Conference champion Norwalk St. Paul by a game in the conference baseball standings after a (4-1) win at Crestview on Monday evening.
Ace Isaiah Seidel won his sixth decision against no losses in going the distance permitting only three hits and fanning 14 and coach Ty Dendinger says he didn’t even have his best stuff. “We played a decent game (Monday) night. Isaiah got his sixth win on the year, but it was one where he didn’t have his best stuff. He didn’t have top velocity on his fastball and wasn’t locating his curveballs really well and Crestview did a good job moving it than most teams on Isaiah, but we fielded it pretty well and we scratched out enough hits and enough runs (Monday) to get a win,” said Dendinger.
Seidel how has 86 k’s for the season. He has allowed one earned run this season.
South Central (13-3,8-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at home against Crestview on Tuesday, weather permitting.
On Monday, Isaiah was pretty good with the bat too, getting two hits and two RBI for the game. Dendinger says he has been improving with the stick. “He is a little bit up and down sometimes with his hits, but he has been hitting the ball really hard about the last six or seven games, even when he doesn’t have anything to show for it, has been moving it really well. He was able to get a couple down (Monday) in big situations. Simon Blair was on both times and was able to score both times he had a base hit,” said Dendinger.
There were other guys that contributed too, according to Dendinger, including Isaiah’s little brother. “Sam Seidel had a double. Simon was on twice. Hit one really hard that ended up being an error, he moved to second of the error. David Lamoreaux didn’t have a hit, but was on base and scored a big run for us in the fourth inning. Dylan Copus came up with a big hit and a walk and scored a run for us,” he said.
Because of the tremendous season and that Isaiah has had, other teams are starting to play games he is pitching differently. Dendinger says they figure they aren’t going to score many runs. “I am starting to see teams do some things you wouldn’t normally do early in the game. In the first inning Simon was on base and they moved the infield in. You don’t usually see that happen in the first inning because you think well, we have to score more than one anyway,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “When Isaiah is on the mound people are making adjustments early on because they know it is going to be very difficult to get more than a couple of runs against him.”
Published 4/23/19
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South Central Keeps First Place to Itself
South Central maintained a one game lead over Norwalk St. Paul in the Firelands Conference baseball standings as they blanked Mapleton (2-0) on the road in a conference game on Tuesday evening.
Junior Isaiah Seidel was tremendous again for the Trojans. He has allowed only one earned run this season.
The game was scoreless through four, but South Central coach Ty Dendinger says they broke through in the fifth against Mapleton ace Zachary Howman. “We just kept talking to the kids. Their pitcher I think was a little bit deceptively quick on us (Tuesday) night and he was really keeping us off balance. He was doing a nice job. We talked about getting him in the stretch and see what we can do. We got a guy on and we got down 0-2 and I faith in my hitter and I gave him the bunt sign again and he got it down and we were able to get him in,” said Dendinger.
St. Paul beat Crestview (13-1) on Tuesday. They are the defending conference champions.
Seidel (5-0) allowed only two hits, walked none and struck out 17 on the day. On Tuesday, Dendinger says he got some big help from his defense on the first pitch of the first inning. “There is not much more you can ask out of a kid. The first batter in the game he kind of hung a slider and he put a nice swing on it, but Tycen Cooper, the leftfielder, was on it right at the first pitch and was able to come up with the grab and that kind of set the tone and Isaiah kind of took it from there,” he said.
Seidel has 69 strikeouts in 29 innings this season for the Trojans. He has thrown two no hitters.
South Central (10-3,5-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at home against Mapleton on Wednesday in a game that was postponed on Monday.
Dendinger says they are developing come confidence here about midway through the regular season. “We are winning games in a lot of different ways. Obviously, when Isaiah is on the mound he is very dominate and we don’t have to score a lot of runs for him to win, but we are averaging about 8.5 runs per game and only giving up about four,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening after the win, “The team ERA is what impresses me the most, which is 1.79, and that is something that is pretty incredible and something I haven’t had before. So, we are really doing well on the mound and getting hits when we need to and we are fielding it at a reasonable rate.”
Published 4/17/19
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South Central Scores three in Seventh to Beat New London
South Central scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning without the benefit of a hit and rallied to beat New London (4-3) in an important Firelands Conference baseball game on Monday.
Both teams wore arm bands to honor a New London student athlete who died last week.
It was a pitcher’s duel between South Central’s Isaiah Seidel and New London’s Peyton Wilson on Monday and neither team got a runner past second base through five innings of the game.
“We told them before the game that Peyton in a great pitcher, probably the best we are going to see all year. My assistant and I talked about this is the kind of pitching that you are going to see in regional finals, maybe. It was a great game. We competed and I told them don’t quit. It was going to be a game of failure, you are going to fail a lot (Monday,) but we didn’t let that hold us back and we were able to get to him in the end,” said South Central coach Ty Dendinger.
New London reached Seidel for three runs in the top of the sixth when a run scored on a throwing error and Wilson helped himself with a two runner homer. South Central would respond with a run in their half of the sixth when a sky high pop up of the bat of Simon Blair fell in the infield and Philip Madison scored, However, Blair, who stole second, was left there when Isaiah Seidel struck out. “It looked like our opportunity was going to be in the sixth and it looked like we kind of gave it away, but everybody in whole lineup competed at the plate and didn’t quit and gave us that opportunity in the seventh,” said Seidel.
Isaiah would strike out the side in the top of the seventh to give his team a chance and they took advantage.
Tycen Cooper began the inning with a walk and Ben Lamoreaux and Evan Legg reached on infield errors, with Cooper scoring in the second one to make it (3-2) New London. South Central tied the game at (3-3) when Curtis Fredrick’s ground ball was thrown away and Lamoreaux scored. After Wilson struck out pinch hitter Blaine Wheeler, number 14 on the day, Sam Seidel was walked intentionally to load the bases. Madison then drew a walk and Legg scored the winning run.
Dendinger thought Cooper’s walk to begin the inning was key. “I talked about taking a pitch and my guy goes, coach, he throws it right down the middle the first pitch and I said maybe he won’t,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We just had to prolong the game as much as possible to give ourselves a chance against a great pitcher like that, trust our guys, and we put it in play when we needed to.”
New London made three errors, had a passed ball, and Wilson walked three, one intentionally, in that seventh inning. “It was disappointing because I thought the boys worked really hard and to just give it away. That is part of the game. We just didn’t have it there in the seventh,” said New London coach David Gentry.
Seidel allowed his first hit of the season on Monday, he entered the game with 12 hitless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out 19 on the day.
Dendinger says he gives them a chance to win every time out. “I know every time he goes to the mound he is going to compete at max effort. What more can you ask for from a kid?” he said.
Published 4/09/19
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Seidel Throws Second no-no of the Season
To say that South Central junior Isaiah Seidel has been untouchable this season might just be an understatement.
The young man threw his second no hitter in as may outings on Tuesday as he struck out 10 and walked none in a five inning (13-0) win over Monroeville in Firelands Conference play.
Coach Ty Dendinger says he had his best stuff again and he got some help from the players behind him. “It is just a testament to him and his work ethic. You have to give credit to his patents for allowing him to put in the time and effort to develop his talent. A huge play that happened is they had a ball struck to right field and the guy didn’t hustle to first and my rightfielder came up and fired to first for a 9-3 out. So, you have to have a little bit of luck too to have that happen,” he said.
The only Monroeville hitter to reach base was hit by a pitch.
Again this week, Seidel was able to stay on the mound because he didn’t throw a lot of pitches. Dendinger said he had good command of all of his pitches and knows how to use them. “That is something we have been talking about since his freshman year. Just being efficient with his pitches, being competitive with every pitch. We can’t have one that we throw to the screen, we can’t have one that bounces five feet before the plate, everything has got to be competitive,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Knowing that all three of his pitches can get guys out and he is a power pitcher and likes to strike guys out, but at the same time trust in his defense and be willing to let a guy hit the baseball, so he can continue to throw a lot of innings.”
So far, this spring, Seidel has thrown 10 innings, allowed no hits, walked two and struck out 22. That is stuffing the stat sheet.
He also helped himself at the plate Tuesday with three hits and three RBI. Even Legg had three hits and four RBI for the Trojans, who host Monroeville on Wednesday in the rematch.
South Central (2-1,1-0) scored four times in the first inning to establish control of the game. Dendinger says that long first inning kind of made him nervous. “I was a little bit nervous going out in the first because he had to sit a little bit longer. I wasn’t sure he was good and loose, but he was efficient in the first inning and had a real nice first inning for us,” he said.
Published 4/03/19
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Seidel Baffles Bucyrus
Isaiah Seidel threw a five inning no-hitter and struck out 12 as South Central dominated Bucyrus (12-0) in a non-conference baseball game played outside of Greenwich on Monday afternoon.
Coach Ty Dendinger says Seidel was a pitcher, not just a hard thrower on Monday. “We talked before the game that he was going to be on a limited pitch count, just not being where we wanted him to be like last year with basketball and everything. We just talked about efficiency and he really went out and pounded the strike zone and mixed pitches very well. He had a real nice night (Monday,)” he said.
Dendinger says Isaiah went out and followed instructions and took care of business, especially in that fifth inning and that shows the maturity he has as a pitcher. “Since his freshman year we have talked and he has been a really, really good pitcher since his freshmen year and trusts in his defense and not trying to strike people out will get you through the game. We talked that he was going to get 60-70 pitches (Monday) night. He ended up throwing 73 through the five innings,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “The first few innings he was getting guys to make contact and we made a few plays and that kept his pitch count down. He was at 63 going into the fifth inning. With a no-hitter we told him we are going to give you a hard cap at 80. No matter what if you are at 80, you are coming out and he went out and he threw 10 pitches in that last inning and was able to compete the no hitter for us.”
Seidel struck out 12 of the 17 batters he faced in the game, averaging just over four pitches per at bat. He walked two Bucyrus hitters, both in the third inning.
Being able to score 12 runs on a windy and bitterly cold day was very good too. Dendinger says the Trojans showed a lot of mental toughness. “Obviously I was super proud of Isaiah, but the whole team. The last few years, I would have been hearing it is too cold to play baseball, normal complaints about playing, and I didn’t hear that one time. They went out and they took care of business. Bucyrus struggled a little bit throwing some strikes, but we were able to take advantage as well. I see their mental toughness really getting better and that is going to a big thing when you have a game that has so much failure. I was very proud of everyone on the team,” said Dendinger.
Published 3/26/19
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South Central With Experience, Talent
South Central clearly has the makings of a solid baseball team this spring and one that can make some noise in the Firelands Conference race.
They have gotten a late start to spring training with a number of the baseball players participating in the regional basketball tournament just last week.
Coach Ty Dendinger says they used that time to prepare some younger players for varsity action. “It seems like you have a lot of time when you start, but it is on you before you know it. You just do the best with what you have. With our basketball team making a nice long run in the tournament we worked with some young guys and gave them a good opportunity to learn some of the fundamentals and they did a real nice job for us,” he said.
South Central was able to scrimmage Sandusky, of the Lake Division of the “SBC” on Tuesday, and Dendinger says they did a lot of good things out there on the field. “I was very happy with (Tuesday.) probably three quarters of my varsity team are basketball players that I have had for less than a week. They came in an flipped the switch from basketball to baseball real quick. We really had a nice day. Isaiah Seidel threw one inning for me and he threw really well. Simon Blair had some nice plays in the field and moved the ball offensively. He threw a scoreless inning. So, we really transitioned pretty quick,” said Dendinger.
South Central returns one of the more talented pitchers in the area in Isaiah Seidel, who has added some velocity to his pitches for this year. Dendinger says Isaiah and his younger brother Sam work hard at their craft. “He works as hard as any kid that I have had. His younger brother Sam is playing for me this year as a freshman as well. They have really good work ethics. When it seems like it is time to go home they are asking for more. We stayed after practice (Monday) and I hit Sam about another 100 ground balls. They just keep working and they want to be good for you,” he said.
With more experience and the ability to score more runs, Dendinger believes they can be a factor in the Firelands Conference race this year. “I think this year we have a real nice chance. You have New London that has a real good pitcher in Peyton Wilson, he is going to keep them in every game he pitches. Plymouth has their number one pitcher back in Trevon Lane and he is going to keep them in,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I think with our depth pitching wise and finally with our experience, we have been young the last few years, with our experience offensively we are going to score a few more runs. I just want my pitchers to throw more strikes. Defensively, we have some athletes that are going to be able to make some plays for us.”
Published 3/20/19
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South Central Loses to Springfield in Regional
New Middletown Springfield outscored South Central (14-0) during a 4:25 stretch of the third quarter and went on to beat the Trojans (62-50) in a division four regional semifinal played on Tuesday at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.
The loss ended the Trojans season at (21-5) as they made their first regional appearance in 45 years.
“There are a lot of hurting kids in there. As much as the have accomplished this year. I don’t know what is hurting more, whether we just lost by 12 or it’s over for the year,” said head coach Brett Seidel in referring to the South Central locker room.
Isaiah Seidel cut the Springfield lead to one (24-23) with a basket and a free throw with 5:53 to play in the third quarter, but the Trojans didn’t score again until Isaiah drained a three with 1:28 to play in the quarter and by that time it was Springfield up by nine (35-26) and things didn’t look good.
Shane Eynon scored five his game high 24 points during the run and Seidel says they were unable to guard him in the post and still give enough pressure to the Tigers outside shooters. “We just didn’t have answer for their big kid inside. They have shooters all over the floor. We saw that on film. They can flat out shoot the basketball. We were trying to not help as much. We thought we could contain 12 in the post and we couldn’t,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “He went through more than one guy, probably two, sometimes three guys and finished at the rim. I thought he was the biggest difference in the ballgame. At this level you give up one run like that and that’s enough. Every point is so hard to come by.”
Rebounding was a big key in the game, according to Seidel. “They killed us at both ends. We were one and done. We did not shoot the basketball well at all in either half. We didn’t get any second chance points either. We didn’t get any offensive rebounds and I feel like they shot until they made it,” he said.
This was the first time South Central has been this far in the tournament since 1974, but Seidel didn’t believe they had their head in the clouds at all. He says the shooting gods certainly weren’t very good to them. “I thought we got really good looks and I thought those looks went down and out. We probably had three threes that went in and out in the first half. If those go down. I felt if we made a few more shots in the first half and eliminate their second shots. It’s a different ballgame,” said Seidel.
Springfield (22-5) held the Trojan’s leading scorer Simon Blair to 15 points, five coming in the final minute. Seidel says the Tigers did do some special things defensively, but nothing they didn’t expect. “I thought they were a lot more gap oriented (Tuesday) night because of Simon. They doubled him in the full and faceguarded him. It wasn’t anything we haven’t seen. That is what they did to the guard they faced in the district finals as well,” said Seidel.
Isaiah Seidel led the team with 18 points, all coming in the second half. “He didn’t play the whole first half. If he plays in the first half it might be different as well because he rebounds and he makes some shots. That hurt a lot because he was on the bench the whole first half,” said his dad.
Drew Clark had 13 points and 19 rebounds for the Tigers. A lot of those rebounds came in the first half. “That was Isaiah’s assignment and he wasn’t in the game for half of it… that hurts,” said coach Seidel.
Published 3/13/19
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South Central Not Satisfied
South Central has reached the sweet 16 of the boys’ division four tournament for the first time since 1974.
They play New Middletown Springfield (21-5) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday night at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse at 8 PM, or the second game of the night. The first game features Richmond Heights against Bristolville Bristol.
The comedic genus of Carroll O’Connor graced the TV screens as “Archie Bunker” in 1974. The number one song this week 45 years ago was “Seasons in the Sun,” a dark ballad focusing on a man considering suicide. And David Thompson and the North Carolina State Wolfpack were beginning their drive to an improbable national title and an upset of UCLA in the national semifinals. The Wolfpack roster also included Willard graduate Mike Burma.
Current South Central coach Brett Seidel was not born yet. His assistant Pat Durham was considering an afro that in a few years he would add to sideline appearance as junior varsity coach at Clear Fork.
South Central downed Colonel Crawford (48-37) last Friday night at Willard High School to earn its first district title in 45 years.
Seidel says down (16-8) after the first quarter they were able to make some adjustments that got them going. “What was really nice for my kids is they were very focused and they were able to execute a game plan. Within the game plan, we had a few adjustments in order just in case they exploited us. We made an adjustment in a timeout that they were really able to put into action for the rest of the game. Just credit my kids for their focus and the way they executed,” he said.
Colonel Crawford cut the lead to (33-31) in the second half, but the Trojans would never trail in the third or fourth quarters.
New Middletown Springfield beat Lowellville (58-48) in their district final last Friday.
Seidel says they are blessed with a lot of shooters. He says they are athletic and he expects them to try and stick them with a man to man defense. “They are pretty deep. Every single one of their kids can shoot it and they can flat out throw it up. You have to guard them at all spots on the floor. It is not just one or two kids that can shoot it, it is all of them. They kind of remind me of a Western and a Lucas combined, personnel wise. They like to play up and down. They have shown matchup zone, they have shown 1-2-2 three quarter court press, they have shown 2-2-1 and predominantly they have played man to man,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “So, we have watched and clipped and cut up a lot of film. We are going to continue to work, focus on what we are going to try and take away, try to limit their clean looks from three and let the results take care of themselves.”
You are never sure what you will get from a unfamiliar opponent, so Seidel says they have to be willing to adjust. “We are going to have a couple of different ways to guard them where we take one thing away and when they are starting to exploit that we will adjust. We are going to have more than one way we are going to defend each guy. We are going to go in with one game plan and hopefully that works and if it doesn’t, we are going to have to resort to a second way of guarding them,” he said.
The days and hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game will be filled with pep rallies and special events and lots of high fives and pats on the back, but Seidel feels his kids will be focused. “Our kids were excited to see the line outside of Willard, the gym was packed, but the kids were focused. I expect the same thing to happen (Tuesday) night. I expect our kids to come out and be ready to play. I expect them to come out and play with confidence because that is just where they are at mentally right now and I am very grateful for that. That is kind of what I am expecting. As far as distractions that is part of the enjoyment of the process. I read a tweet (Monday) that says, we have not come this far to come this far. Basically, what that means is we haven’t come this far to just be happy to be where we are at. We are not going there just to participate, we are going to win a basketball game. That’s the goal and I know that is my kids’ mentality right now,” said Seidel.
Published 3/12/19
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South Central Going to Stick by its Guns
South Central challenges Colonel Crawford Friday night at Willard High School in the division four district title game.
They beat Margaretta (57-53) in overtime Tuesday night to advance.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are going up against one of the best programs in North Central Ohio. “Number one it starts with Dave Sheldon, that’s where it all starts with that entire program for years has been successful. Eight sectional titles in a row, district titles. The program and his resume speaks for itself. Their experience in this tournament at Willard is unmatched. That is what we notice first. They are very organized at all times. They are going to be in position at all times. It is definitely a very tall challenge for us,” said Seidel.
Crawford (20-4) downed Lucas (51-39) on Tuesday. Seidel says their physical play is really impressive. “If you see them on film you don’t recognize it as much. I have seen them live twice. Coach (Pat) Durham and “Fick” have seen them live three times. What you notice when you are watching them live is their physicality. They have at least four 6’4” guys and they are all strong. They are long and they are athletic. That is what stands out when you see them live,” he said.
Plus, the Eagles have an all-district point guard in Jordan Fenner, the son of Colonel Crawford girls’ coach Kyle Fenner. Seidel says he is what makes them go. “He is a dynamic player. He can get to the rim. He can shoot it from the perimeter, but I think his strength is being able to shoot that pullup, which is a lost art in today’s game. He is a unique player. He makes them go. I would venture to say he has the ball in his hands most of the time,” he said.
It is a district final, there are 32 teams left in each of the four divisions, and everybody is good with strengths. However, Seidel says he has to resist changing his game plan too much. “In previous tournaments I tried to overthink, over analyze, over install, over prepare and try and put too much on my kids mentally and it backfired repeatedly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday. “We have tried to stay with what we have done the entire year and what has made us the most successful in each game. We are going to try and stick to what we do and hopefully adjust on the fly.”
Published 3/07/19
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South Central Rallies to Down Margaretta in Overtime
On a night when Simon Blair and David Lamoreaux combined to score more than 60 percent of their team’s points, Tycen Cooper, off the bench, emerged as the hero.
He scored South Central’s final six points as the Trojans outlasted Margaretta (57-53) in overtime in a division four district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
They advance to play Colonel Crawford, who beat Lucas (51-39) on Tuesday, in Friday night’s district title game.
Cooper, known more for his exploits as a football running back, converted a rebound into a basket to give South Central the lead for good (53-51) with 53 seconds left in overtime and then made four of four free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the win.
The Trojans (20-4) trailed by nine at the half (28-19) and as many as 13 in the second half, but coach Brett Seidel says they never gave up. “Like I have said before these kids have this believe word in their head and that is what we stick to down 10 to St. Mary’s, down nine (Tuesday) night, then we got down as many as 13 if I remember right. We just kept believing that we were going to be there at the end and we were. If we make a few free throws it’s not going overtime. In the overtime we tried to impress upon the kids that they were going to be playing without Rafsnider, their big man in the middle,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We wanted to get an early bucket and we got Simon (Blair) to the rim and then “Coop” gets a stick back and then he makes four free throws in a row and I don’t ever remember him making four free throws in a row.”
Margaretta senior Nick Libacher hit back to back threes to give the Polar Bears (17-7) a 13 point bulge (34-21) with 7:04 to play in the third quarter and Seidel called time out. His kids came out and went on a (12-0) run to cut the deficit to one (34-33) after a Blair field goal with 2:51 to play in the third. “This is tournament you either fight or go home and that’s what they did. Our defensive presence in the second half and effort and intensity and playing for each other in that second half was really unbelievable,” he said.
Blair had 19 for South Central and Lamoreaux added 17.
The Trojans tied the game (40-40) on freshman Sam Seidel’s three from the left wing with 7:13 to play in the game and took their first lead all night (47-44) on Blair’s field with 2:32 to play in the contest. Libacher tied the game (49-49) with 13 seconds left in regulation on a three from the top of the key.
Seidel thinks they made the Polar Bears take some tough shots, especially in the second half. “They took tough shots and I thought we got our hands on a lot of balls that ended up loose and we ended up coming up with and we got run outs out of it. When we got those run outs that really gave us some confidence,” he said.
Blair’s final field goal of the game came on the first possession of overtime with he scored driving to the hoop with 3:50 to play in the extra session. “We knew they were without Raifsnider and we were going to try and go to Lamoreaux. We hadn’t run baseline the whole night. They wen man to man, they had been playing some trapping zone with our “Carolina” offense. We wanted to get the lead, so we went baseline, clear out, for him and he finished,” said Seidel.
Published 3/06/19
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South Central Matches up With Margaretta in the Districts
It’s South Central against Margaretta in the opening game of the division four district doubleheader on Tuesday night at Willard High School.
The Trojans were the runner-up in the Firelands Conference and the Polar Bears finished third in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says they were very pleased to rally and beat Sandusky St. Mary’s (65-60) last Friday in a sectional final game. “We have kids that hadn’t experienced that and for them to be able to enjoy a comeback win and be able to move on an advance and kind of just relieve yourself of the anxiety of not doing that yet definitely helps,” he said.
Division four district player of the year Simon Blair scored 26 of his 35 points in the second half.
Margaretta (17-6) buried Mansfield St. Peter’s (57-39) last Friday and Seidel says they are good all over. “I have watched them numerous times against different types of teams and different types of defenses. I have seen it all and I have come one conclusion, I am tired of watching film on them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They are very well coached, they are very good defensively, they have some balance inside and out, they have size, athleticism, they compete hard, they shoot the basketball well, they run their stuff well, so it is a tall task.”
Margaretta also has solid guard play from Dylan Morris and Nick Leibacker and some height too. “They are tough to speed up, they are tough to turn over, their guards are very talented and they are also very experienced. You have that going and then you have a big, 6’7” kid in the middle, who can score with his back to the basket, can alter shots, offense rebound, so it is a tough matchup,” said Seidel.
Seidel says their goal is to come out and play solid basketball and play up to potential and see where the chips fall. “We are hoping that we are just going to go and play to our potential and do our best to try and understand personnel and assignments and hopefully we execute and play as hard as we can play and the results take care of themselves,” said Seidel.
Published 3/05/19
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South Central Takes on St. Mary’s
South Central meets Sandusky St. Mary’s in a division four sectional final on Friday night at Shelby High School.
The Trojans (18-4) were the runners-up in the Firelands Conference while St. Mary’s shared the title in the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says none of that matters now because it is the second season. “It is just a matter of playing the game now. Obviously, we are up against a real good opponent with 18 wins on the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They have some really good players, some really good skill. We are believing in ourselves and hopefully our schedule and what we have done this year has prepared us for this.”
There is a lot of depth in the division four district this year and Seidel says this is a game you might expect to see at the district level. “Two 18 wins teams in the sectional final. You would think when you earn a two seed and have 18 wins you would think you have I don’t want to say a cupcake, but at least something that is fairly winnable to get out and you have to go up against another 18 win team to just get out of the sectional,” said Seidel.
St. Mary’s (18-5) hammered Mansfield Christian (59-29) on Tuesday night to advance.
Seidel says they have the ability to balance the floor with the personnel they can put out there. “They are well coached, Chris does a really good job with them. They defend well. They have two exceptional players in (Myles) Bruno and (Nathan) Roesch and then their three role players are really, really good too. They play seven or eight deep, but their top five are really good,” said Seidel.
Both teams have shown the tendency to be up tempo this year. However, Seidel says in the tournament you have to be ready for whatever comes at you that night. “They do have a little ball control to their half court offense, but they can play in transition, which is preferably what we would like to do. At the tournament level you don’t know what is going to take place. If you are going to see a junk defense or somebody holding the ball. Anything can happen in the tournament,” he said.
Published 2/28/19
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South Central Needs to Battle Back
South Central is not going to win the Firelands Conference title this year, but there are other things that can be accomplished, especially in the division four tournament, which starts for them next Friday against either Sandusky St. Mary’s or Mansfield Christian.
Friday night, they close out the regular season against a very good Norwalk St. Paul on the road.
Last week, Western Reserve beat them (68-61) to claim the outright Firelands Conference title.
Coach Brett Seidel says all of the credit goes to Western and coach Chris Sheldon. “First of all, congratulations to Chris and his entire team for the year that they have had. Well deserved, they took care of business. They came to a very hostile environment and played very relaxed basketball and that showed with their shooting percentage. The way they shot that the basketball I think they were very easy in how they played,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They didn’t force much, but when they got shot opportunities they made those shots. Our community came out and supported. We just were not fortunate enough to come away with a win for our kids.”
Seidel says it is the last week of the regular season, but they have still have a lot of things to improve on. “I think there are some things we can clean up for sure, but I definitely don’t want to take an credit away from them. We are going to continue to work and try and get better. That’s our goal right now. Our only focus right now is St. Paul and Friday night hoping to get ready to play a basketball game,” he said.
South Central (17-4,11-2) plays at Norwalk St. Paul (14-7,9-4) on Friday night in a conference game. The Flyers are coming off a (67-47) win over Mapleton in the league last Friday. South Central won the first game (74-70) on January 11.
Seidel says they Flyers have all of the elements of a good team. “I think they have a lot of pieces that make them good. First of all, they are well coached. They have two sets of twins that are really good. They have a 6’6” guard that is really good. They have a shooter that comes off the bench that is really good. They are very efficient offensively. They are good in transition. You have to guard early,” he said.
This game on Friday night against St. Paul is good preparation for the tournament, according to Seidel. “It is nice to play good teams down the stretch, especially on the road. I think it does prepare you, it helps you. I don’t know if our mind could go anywhere else and have a chance against St. Paul. If we are focused on anything else, like what happened last week or what it going to happen in the tournament we are going to be in for a real hard one Friday night,” he said.
Published 2/20/19
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South Central Needs This One
Friday night, it is the game that will likely decide who wins the Firelands Conference title this year.
South Central is at home for Western Reserve with the Roughriders holding a one game lead on the Trojans. If Western wins, they clinch an outright title, if South Central does they are tied with one game to play.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says they have not been looking ahead at this one, they have been focusing each night out and that is why they are hear. “I am not going to say we have been waiting for it. Western Reserve is a very good basketball team. We had to take care of us within the last month to put us in position that this one had some meaning. We have really been concentrating on getting better and just taking things one game at a time,” he said.
South Central (16-3,11-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays host to Western Reserve (13-4,12-0) on Friday night.
Seidel says he thinks they are better than the first time they played Western, but still not where they need to be. “Yeah, but I think they are as well, that is kind of the progress of the season, you are supposed to get better anyway. I think there are still times when we don’t play as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I think there are still times where we are not as good defensively, there are times when we aren’t very good offensively, mainly because we either turn it over or miss a shot, which is obvious to every spectator. I think for the most part on the whole we have gotten better, but I still don’t think we have played 32 minutes of good basketball at both ends of the floor and in transition.”
He knows they are going to have to play a four quarter game if they expect to win on Friday. “That goes without saying. Western is a really skilled, deep basketball team. They are good defensively, and obviously they are very well coached. This would be the best of times to put 32 minutes together, that’s for sure,” he said.
Western has made a lot of triples this year, a lot, but Seidel says they can take it to the basket too, so they are tough to defend. “Here is the thing they can take you off the dribble. They are skilled, they are just shooters only they can put it on the floor and get into the paint. They may not be posting and have back to the basket players, but they can get to the paint with the ball and get the ball to the front of the rim and much as possible. So, it is not just guarding that three point line that is tough about them,” said Seidel.
It was the Roughriders that won the first game (51-43) on January 4. Seidel says to win this time they can’t be passive against the Western zone. “Well, they got the lead in the second half, hit a few threes and got the lead on us, and they spread the floor and kind of put it on ice and then they went to a zone and we stood. Against their zone in the first half we played pretty well. We scored some baskets here and there. In the second half when they went zone we stood and we didn’t act like we knew what to do. I think being organized and being efficient when they change defense we are going to have to be ready for that,” said Seidel.
Published 2/13/19
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South Central Has Blinders on
South Central needs to keep its focus as they travel to Crestview on Friday night for a Firelands Conference game.
They continue to trail Western Reserve, their only loss in conference play, by a game in the conference standings. They host the Roughriders next week.
Friday night, South Central (14-3,10-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at Crestview (3-15,0-11) the only school without a conference win.
In their first meeting, South Central won (77-60) on December 28, but South Central coach Brett Seidel says the Cougars were ahead in that game and they know they have players. “They have Hamilton and King that are really good, they have some size inside, and the Kissell kid and can make some threes. The last time we played them we played them at home and they were up 10 on us after the first quarter. We fully know what they are capable of. It is definitely not a game we are going to take lightly because they haven’t clicked that win mark yet,” said Seidel.
The Trojans are becoming a better defensive team, reference their (54-40) win over New London on Tuesday, but the Seidel says they still aren’t clicking on offense. “I still don’t feel we are playing with the fluidity that we played over the summer. I just feel the ball isn’t moving quite as much as what it was,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Part of that is some of the kids that were making shots them aren’t making as many shots now and I think that is going to come it is just a matter of time when those kids start making some shots. I feel like defensively we are getting a little better, but offensively we are just still not there yet.”
With Western in the horizon is this a trap game? Seidel says if it becomes that then they only have themselves to blame. “I don’t think you should be playing for a championship if you are involved with trap games. The way we are approaching this season and what we have talked about all season long is every game matters. It doesn’t matter if it is a league game or a non-league game. It’s an opportunity. With what is at stake, what is before us now is all we an control. That has been our approach,” said Seidel.
Edison (1-15) will be in Greenwich for a non-conference game on Saturday night.
Seidel says this is another team they can’t afford to take lightly. “They are a division two team that plays a division two schedule and they have division two athletes. We went and scouted them and they are athletic. It is not something where just because they have only won a few games compared to their previous years, that kind of stands out to you. That doesn’t mean they don’t have some athletes, some players, on the floor. Both games are going to be a test for us,” he said.
Published 2/08/19
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South Central Stays Right There
South Central did what it had to do on Tuesday night, they beat New London, to stay a game behind Western Reserve in the Firelands Conference standings.
They held the Wildcats to 26 percent from the field, including 4-27 on threes, and beat New London (54-40) on Tuesday night.
The first quarter was the key as they outscored New London (16-2) over the games first eight minutes. Isiah Seidel scored the first field goal of the game with 7:37 left in the first quarter and the Trojans never trailed. New London went scoreless for the final 6:26 of the quarter.
The lead jumped to as many as 21 at (39-18) with 2:19 to play in the third quarter after a basket by freshman Sam Seidel.
Coach Brett Seidel says he and his staff have been preaching being tough and playing good defense. “First of all, we have been talking, talking, and talking about grit and trying to get better defensively. We have still yet to shoot the basketball well all year, with the exception of a few games we haven’t shot the basketball well at all,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “If we can just continue to hone in an get better defensively. We just talk about paying attention to details. I thought the kids did a wonderful job (Tuesday) night with that.”
It was (25-13) South Central at the half and if not for three three pointers by Ben Crawshaw, the Wildcats would not have made it out of the single digits.
Coach Tom Howell, who has announced this will be his final year as head coach, says the effort was not there in the first half by his team. “We didn’t shoot it, we didn’t rebound, we didn’t guard the ball well in the first half. The first half our effort wasn’t there. I know you have to give them a lot of credit they are a good basketball team and I knew it was going to be tough coming in, but that first half was bad,” he said.
Karson Howell, a 1,000 points career scorer for New London was held to 0 by the Trojans.
Seidel says their leading scorer Simon Blair played outstanding defense. “Simon Blair, who has all of these accolades for what he can do with the ball in his hands, but what he did at the defensive end to hold a guard of the caliper of Karson Howell to zero points that is a testament and speaks volumes about not only his athleticism, but his willingness,” said Seidel.
That is the first time it his varsity career that Howell, a senior, who played since he was a freshman, has been scoreless. He was 0-8 from the field.
The Trojans held a comfortable led (39-25) going to the fourth quarter and Seidel says they did a pretty good job of staying calm and handling the lead. “We stretched it out to 19 or 20 there. I don’t want to say we got complacent we got some good shots and they didn’t go in. They got some things to happen for them to get the momentum swung a little bit. The fourth quarter they had the momentum. I am happy our kids didn’t kind of wilt under the pressure. They acted like they have been there before and that’s encouraging,” said Seidel.
Blair led South Central with 18 points. Ben Lamoreaux and Isiah Seidel both had 12.
Ashton Carruthers had 14 for New London, 10 in the second half.
New London got as close as eight (44-36) with 4:10 to play after a Carruthers basket, but could get no closer.
Coach Howell was pleased his team never gave up. “They guard very well. They are physical. They are strong kids and we struggle with stuff like that. I will give our kids a lot of credit in the second half I thought we played a lot better. We didn’t backdown. We could have rolled over, but we didn’t. We will take that and go with it,” he said.
The game was physical, only 25 fouls were called, and many of them were late as the Wildcats were trying to send South Central to the line and stop the clock, and Seidel thought they handled that physicality. “We talked about they had three or four fouls to give. So, we knew they were coming hard and they did. They reached and grabbed trying to get the ball back. Who can fault them, right? They are behind. Tom does a great job with effort over there. I am thankful that I don’t have to face him or his son ever again,” he said.
Published 2/06/19
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South Central Knows What Plymouth is Capable of
South Central plays at Plymouth on Friday night, a rival that would like to hinder their chances of a Firelands Conference title.
Right now, the Trojans trail Western Reserve by a game in the conference standings.
They stayed right on the Roughriders heels by thumping Mapleton (68-45) on Friday night behind 18 from David Lamerouex.
Coach Brett Seidel thinks they did pretty well against a Mapleton team that has been improving. “I feel like Mapleton is much improved. They have some kids that have experience scoring the basketball. I think they were finding a little confidence there and played pretty well against Open Door Christian. So, for us to come away with a double digit win was good for us,” said Seidel.
Leading scorer Simon Blair injured his ankle against Mapleton and did not play against Mansfield Christian on Saturday night in a (43-38) win by the Trojans.
Seidel praises the Flames defense. “I think we had it out to around 18 at one point. I thought the ball moved pretty good. We had a few too many turnovers that I would like and we didn’t shoot the ball well at all. They do a nice job and are handsy in their zone. It gave us some problems and even the open shots that we did get, we didn’t make. Credit them and their defense for that,” said Seidel.
He says Blair’s availability for the Plymouth game is up in the air. “It really swelled up bad and fast on Friday night and he wasn’t able to put a whole lot of weight on it Saturday. Not sure what his status will be,” he said.
South Central (12-3,8-1) plays at Plymouth (7-8,4-5) on Friday night. In their first meeting in Greenwich, South Central won (70-55) on December 21.
The Big Red nearly upset Western Reserve last Friday, losing in the final 30 seconds (41-40) to the first place Roughriders. Seidel says the Big Red is better because their role players are better. “They are playing with a lot of confidence. They have a big win by a big margin over Mansfield Christian at Christian, I was there for that one. They had Western on the ropes. They gave them all they wanted, they had the lead with 15 seconds to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “To say they are improved is an understatement and they seem like they do that every year. So, they are playing a lot better, their role players are really starting to score it. We are going to have to be ready to go.”
Jacob Adams is one of the leading scorers in the area and Seidel says you have to know where he is at all times. “He is dynamic. He can make tough shots. Hopefully, we do a little bit better job than we did last time. He had 26 on us the last time. I thought we were there, he was just feeling it pretty good and made a lot of tough shots,” he said.
Published 1/29/19
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South Central Not There Yet
South Central trails Western Reserve by a game in the Firelands Conference standings and they are home for a conference game against the Mapleton Mounties on Friday night.
They host Mansfield Christian (2-13) in a non-conference game on Saturday night.
Last Thursday, the Trojans dominated Monroeville to the tune of (64-35) in a Firelands Conference game, yet coach Brett Seidel feels they could have played a lot better. “I thought we were pretty good defensively in two of the quarters. I still don’t think we have played a complete game yet,” he told Swankonports.com on Wednesday, “We still don’t have everybody making shots yet. We have not had everybody contribute at both ends yet. I think we played one of our better games, but not we are still not there yet.”
Seidel says his goal is to push the players to be better everyday game and every day in practice. “That is part of being a coach you don’t sleep much. You are constantly trying to figure out something to push somebody’s button the right way and get them to preform at a higher level. That is constantly what we are trying to do and try and get better each day,” he said.
South Central (10-3,7-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, entertains Mapleton (4-9,2-6) on Friday night. The Trojans won (74-54) on December 15 in the first meeting. Mapleton has won two of their last four, including an overtime win (67-65) over Crestview last Thursday. They lost to Elyria Open Door Christian (66-56) on Tuesday night in a non conference game.
Seidel says the Mounties can make perimeter shots and they have to respect them. “They are a dangerous team. Open Door Christian is 9-2 I believe on the year, so they got beat by a pretty good team on the road and they were with them throughout the game. I think you throw in all of their three point shooters and the way they are competitive throughout a game they are a very dangerous team and we are going to have to be ready,” said Seidel.
They trail Western Reserve by a game, but they do not play them again until February 15 and Seidel says they must keep focused. “It is just like everyday in practice you have to focus on the process. You can’t worry about results. Every game matters, just like every practice matters. We are trying to instill upon them that every situation, every possession, and every game matters,” he said.
Published 1/24/19
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South Central Knows the Assignment
South Central knows what is has to do if they are going to have a chance at the Firelands Conference title. They have to keeping winning because it is unlikely that Western Reserve is going to lose very many conference games.
They trail the Roughriders by a game.
They kept pace with a (74-70) win over Norwalk St. Paul last Friday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they can only worry about them. “We are now in the chase. Everybody is chasing Western Reserve, the league leader. Similar to last year as well. It was a big win for us at home against St. Paul on Friday night,” said Seidel.
He says they got a big lift from Alex Holland, not normally a big scorer. “Holland stepped up in a big way. He is averaging seven or eight points a game and he had 22 points and nine boards that night,” said Seidel.
South Central (9-3,6-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at home against Monroeville (5-7,2-5) on Thursday night. The Eagles have won three of their last four, but were blown out by Western Reserve (65-30) last week.
Seidel believes the Eagles have gained some confidence since they beat them (58-39) on December 7. “They are definitely different in terms of belief in themselves. I think that is the biggest thing. They have won some games, so they start to have a little bit of confidence in themselves and I think that goes a long way,” he said.
New London (7-4,4-3) comes to South Central on Saturday night for their second meeting of the season. The Wildcats also play Western on Thursday. South Central won the first meeting (49-44) on December 14 at New London. The Wildcats have now their last five and six of their last seven.
Seidel says he isn’t surprised. “They have gotten a whole lot better, not that they weren’t good before. We won by five at their place and we were fortunate to come away with it. They had the lead late in the game and we were fortunate enough to make a few plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It’s a rivalry mostly because of proximity. I have a lot of respect for coach (Tom) Howell and everything we has done and is doing with his program. They always get better throughout the year.”
The South Central coach says they have had some other players step up and support leading scorer Karson Howell. “It is good for Karson. Last year, all we did was chase him and double him and hound him the entire game. Now it is a little more difficult to do that because they have kids around him that can make plays and make shots,” he said.
Published 1/16/18
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South Central Must Rebound!
South Central now trails Western Reserve by a game in the Firelands Conference standings after a loss to the Roughriders last Friday. They need to get back on the winning trail right away.
They host third place Norwalk St. Paul on Friday night in a conference game.
Leading (30-28) at halftime last Friday, the Trojans scored only 13 points in the second half in losing (51-43) in the showdown between co-leaders.
Coach Brett Seidel says a scoring draught in the third quarter kind of did them in. “They outscored us by 10 in the third and Simon (Blair) didn’t even score. Then in the fourth they limited our possessions by spreading the floor on us and playing some zone. The third quarter is what got us,” said Seidel.
Blair and David Lamoreaux both spent significant time on the bench in foul trouble in that third quarter.
Seidel says they can’t get caught looking in the rear view mirror. “We can only take care of what is in front of us. We can only take care of ourselves. That is our concentration right now. We are going to focus on trying to get better fundamentally, execution wise in half court and try and move forward,” he said.
South Central (8-3,5-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at home with Norwalk St. Paul (6-3,4-2) on Friday night. The Flyers outscored Mapleton (89-72) in a league last Friday. The lost Saturday night to Margaretta (63-44) in a non-league games.
Seidel says the Flyers have a bundle on scorers. “If you look at their scores, they can score the basketball. They are about nine deep. They are all very talented. They have two sets of twins that can produce big numbers on every night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “The (Jake) Griffin kid is a 6’5” kid that is very athletic and really hurt us last year as well. They have the (Brandon) Furlong kid that can make a lot of threes. They are explosive offensively. We are going to have our hands full.”
On Friday night, Seidel says they must keep the Flyers off the boards. “Well, I think the key is rebounding at both ends. That is very key to us. They are a very physical team. I feel like boarding it at both ends and trying to pick up a few extra shots or offensive possessions by going and getting extras is going to be important for us, but also limiting theirs,” he said.
Published 1/08/19
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South Central Will Need to Adjust
South Central travels to Western Reserve for a key early season battle in the Firelands Conference on Friday night. The two share the conference lead with perfect 5-0 league records.
The Trojans kept their share of the league lead with a (77-60) win at home against Crestview last Friday. They almost had one the next night, losing (76-69) in overtime to the Norwalk Truckers.
However, coach Brett Seidel says they are still searching for consistency and certainly haven’t played their best game yet. “What coach (Pat) Durham and I have been talking about all along is just consistency. We are looking for consistency for four quarters and we really haven’t had that yet,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We have had either defensive lapses mentally, position wise, and also went through scoring draughts. We have not been as consistent as we would like to be. We are only 10 games in, so we still have room to grow.”
South Central (8-2,5-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at Western Reserve (6-2,5-0) for the biggest game in the league so far. The schools have traded jabs over the last three years and likely will for the next four or five.
Seidel says the Roughriders as a group shoot the basketball very well. “First of all, they are very well coached. Chris (Sheldon) does a great job. They play extremely hard and very competitive. They shoot the basketball really well and they are skilled. So, yeah, our hands are full (Friday) night,” he said.
Western converted a three pointer with just over four ticks left on the clock to beat Norwalk St. Paul (68-66) last Friday.
Seidel says they have so many guys who can make shots and that makes them hard to contain on any night. “It is hard to find them with all of the shooters they have all having a cold night on the same night. We would be very fortunate if that was to happen. We are planning on them making some shots and it will be a great atmosphere and a fun game to be part of,” he said.
Simon Blair, the South Central point guard, is one of the area’s more explosive scorers. Seidel says they are going to have to work hard to find ways to get Blair the ball where he wants to get it. “I think adjustments is going to be the big key for us. I am not sure what (Sheldon) has got up his sleeve for Simon (Blair.) I know he is going to try and do something to either take him away or prevent his touches. We are going to have to adjust accordingly to what that is. We are preparing for everything because you never know what Chris is going to do. That is the unknown and we are going to have to adjust on the fly,” said Seidel.
Published 1/04/19
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South Central Needs to Bounce Back
South Central lost for the first time this season last Saturday and they need to bounce back this week with two games, one in the Firelands Conference, and one out of league.
After racing to an unbeaten record, the Trojans lost to Waynedale (62-49) last Saturday in the Steve Smith Classic at the College of Wooster.
Coach Brett Seidel says they became too selfish. “It was the first time we have really been down. I thought we resorted to a lot of trying to do everything on our own. A lot of the guys were trying to go one on five to get us back in the game as fast as possible instead of playing the game the right way,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They are big and physical and we struggled to score inside. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well and that was definitely because of Waynedale and their team.”
On Friday night, the Trojans (7-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, and in a share of the lead in Firelands Conference with Western Reserve, plays at home against Crestview (2-5,0-4) in a conference game.
Seidel says the Cougars are going to play very hard, especially on the glass. “From what I have seen on film and what I have seen live against Lucas they are competitive. They are going to compete no matter the score. They have a really good guard in a sophomore named Hamilton and then the King kid can really shoot it. They have some size coming in off the bench. They really crash the offensive glass really hard. We really have to focus on limiting their second chance points,” said Seidel.
It is a different week practice wise due to fact that Christmas fell on Tuesday. Seidel says it all comes out in the wash. “I would like to think we are both kind of the same situation. All teams at this point are have played six to eight games. Everybody is coming off a Christmas break falling on a weird day and very few practices this week. Just hoping that the guys are taking care of their bodies and getting enough rest,” he said.
On Saturday night, the Trojans are at Norwalk (5-2) for a non-conference game. Seidel says they are going to have to at least contain Norwalk point guard Brandon Haraway. “Haraway is obviously dynamic and very difficult to contain. He is 6’2” and athletic and strong and can shoot it. He makes them go and makes them a whole lot better. They are physical across the board. We are going to be tested in being able to respond to their physicality Saturday night,” said Seidel.
Published 12/27/18
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South Central Hosts Longtime Rival Plymouth
South Central shares first place with Western Reserve after three games of Firelands Conference action and the Trojans are at home on Friday night for Plymouth in conference action.
In a non-conference game on Tuesday night against Lucas, both were unbeaten going into the game, Simon Blair had 25 points and Alex Holland added 12, and the Trojans beat the Cubs (57-51) to remain perfect so far.
Coach Brett Seidel says Blair, a junior, was outstanding. “A very talented team in Lucas, so very fortunate to make enough plays. Obviously, Simon Blair was Simon Blair. He was being chased by a very good athlete in Carson Hauger. He stepped up and made some big plays. Alex Holland played really well for us as well,” he said.
With Blair’s ability to score the Trojans have seen a lot of junk defenses this year, but Seidel says it is difficult to keep the ball out of his hands. “We have faced box and one and we have faced diamond and one. The other night we faced a denial the entire game. Also, putting two people on him in the full court, which is really tough to do because he is really athletic. He cuts and plants and goes really, really fast. It’s tough to do in the full court against him. We have seen a little bit of everything so far and to be honest he finds a way to get the basketball,” said Seidel.
South Central (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at home for Plymouth (3-1,2-1) on Friday. The Big Red lost its first game this year to Western Reserve (56-39) last Saturday. They won at Norwalk St. Paul (67-65) a couple weeks back.
Blair is clearly a contender for the conference MVP and so is Jacob Adams of Plymouth, who had 36 against St. Paul.
Seidel says Adams in a kid that makes a lot of tough shots, you just have to hope he misses. “In watching film on him he just makes so many tough shots. It is not just denying him the ball and keeping the ball out of his hands. It is going to be what is he going to do once he has it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “He makes some shots when he is double teamed, he is fading away, getting bumped, and he still makes them. He just hits incredibly tough shots. At the end of the day you just tip your hat. I guess you have to be okay with that.”
It is down the road and around the corner between the two schools and Seidel says the stands will be loud on Friday. “There is mutual respect between coach Shelenberger and me. He does a great job. There is respect there for him and his program, but at the same time with proximity and past and history it tends to be a rivalry game. Friday night is going to be a test,” he said.
Published 12/21/18
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South Central to be Challenged
South Central has won its first three games of the season, but they still have things to work on with two big road games in the Firelands Conference this week at New London on Friday and at Mapleton on Saturday.
The Trojans beat Monroeville (58-39) last Friday, but coach Brett Seidel says there were a lot of things they didn’t do well. “To win on the road is good. I thought we were sloppy with the basketball and didn’t make good decisions with it. We didn’t take care of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We kind of fouled when we shouldn’t have, which interrupts flow and the pace of the game. So, some little things we have to correct. We are in game three and almost want things to correct at this point.”
South Central (3-0,1-0) is at New London (1-2,0-1) on Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a (50-40) loss to Western Reserve last week.
Seidel says the Wildcats are always well coached and they have some talented players. “Coach (Tom) Howell has always done a great job, so you know you are going to be in for a dogfight each time you face them. His son (Karson) is special, a very, very good player. The (Ashton) Carruthers kid is a very nice player. The (Ben) Crenshaw kid has really come on with his shooting. We expect them to be ready on their home floor. It should be a very good basketball game,” said Seidel.
The South Central coach says games against New London are always fun to play. “I think because of the proximity and closeness of it. I have a lot of respect for coach Howell. I enjoy competing against him. His kids are always well prepared and always play hard and are always really, really classy,” he said.
Mapleton (2-1,1-0) will be another challenge on Saturday night. They beat Crestview (53-43) on Friday in a conference game and then lost to Loudonville (52-32) in a non-league game on Saturday.
Seidel says they have some experience and some guys that can play too. “They have some seniors that have been there for a while. The Sanders kid is 6’8”. The Pharmer kid is a real special athlete. The Schad kid has been there for a few years. So, they have some experience, some talent, some size. We are definitely in for a tough weekend,” said Seidel.
Published 12/12/18
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South Central Respects Monroeville
South Central begins defense of its Firelands Conference boys’ basketball title on Friday night as they travel to Monroeville to meet the new look Eagles.
As one the favorites for the conference title again this year, the Trojans started the season last week with a pair of non-conference wins, (63-44) over Mansfield St. Peter’s on Friday and (52-40) over Buckeye Central on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says it was really a big win for them over St. Peter’s. “We hadn’t beaten St. Peter’s in seven years. To go on he road and win there kind of like we want to is uplifting to the kids and their work in the off season. The next night we just didn’t shoot very well. Other than Simon (Blair) I think we were 20 percent from the field. So, we just didn’t shoot very well, but I thought our effort and focus on defense was pretty good the entire weekend,” said Seidel.
There are a lot of offensive weapons for South Central, but Seidel believes it is going to be defense that wins them banners. “I think that is what is going to sperate us. I would like to think we are going win championships, or have the potential I should say. The only way you can do that is through defense. I think if you just count on your potential and your talent alone that is not going to be enough. We are trying this week even to just focus on defensive fundamentals and try and stay in the process. That’s the goal,” he said.
South Central (2-0,0-0) is at Monroeville (0-2,0-0) on Friday night in conference action. Monroeville has begun the season with losses to Fremont St. Joe (54-43) on Saturday and Brooklyn (58-51) on Tuesday. They have a new coach in Paul Roeder.
Seidel is impressed by Eagles freshman Isaac Roeder. “I have seen them on film several times and they do have several kids back from last year with a lot of experience, but what makes them dangerous is they have a freshman,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “He is 6’2” and he looks like he is 185 pounds, who has had 24 and 30 in their first two games. With their experience and his talent we are going to have our hands full on Friday night.”
With the level of success the Trojans have attained, Seidel says they know everyone has them circled on their schedule. “The kids have done a great job over the years of making their standard a little bit higher and because of that and being defending Firelands Conference champs and up for it this year again you kind of have a target on your back and we are aware of that. We are going to get everybody’s best on every night,” said Seidel.
Published 12/07/18
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www.swankonsportshosting247.comSouth Central With Tremendous Challenge on Friday night
South Central, one of the preseason favorites for the Firelands Conference title, begins the boys’ basketball season this weekend with a pair of non-conference games at Mansfield St. Peter’s on Friday and at Buckeye Central on Saturday.
The Trojans have talent and have shown some good things in the preseason, but coach Brett Seidel says you are never exactly sure what the players on going to be like until they throw up the ball on Friday. “I remember as a player I didn’t have a whole lot of nerves or anything and knew what I was going to do and what to expect. As a coach you don’t know until the lights come on and the ball is tipped and we start playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “So, just the unknowns of who is going to step up and fill the voids that Ben Lamoreaux left is a big question mark for us. How are we going to continue to progress on defense, which I have seen a lot of progress as far as the defensive end. That has kind of been our focus.”
South Central is going to have scorers this year, but Seidel says the real key to their season is how good can they be on defense. “You try and prepare for the best teams on our schedule. You try to make tournament runs. The only way you do those things is through defense. That has kind of been our focus. We have some kids who have some skill and put a lot of time into the game, but we have got to get better as a team defensively each and every day,” said Seidel.
It was a hard fought game at South Central last season to start the season last year, with the Spartans winning (67-63,) their closest game of the regular season. This year, Seidel says St. Peter’s is going to be very good again with players that are dedicated to the game and are in the gym all of the time. “I would expect them to be very balanced. The way I see it they have five really, really skilled kids, who have probably put in an insane amount of hours in the gym. He obviously does a great job in developing. So, I would expect them to have five really, really skilled, balanced players,” he said.
Published 11/29/18
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South Central to Try Something Different
South Central has had some pretty good basketball success the last couple of seasons. Including Firelands Conference titles in two of the last three years, but they want more, more tournament success.
Coach Brett Seidel says they have changed some things they are doing this month.
Plus, he says they can take some momentum off of what was a very good football season, the best in more than 30 years. “(Basketball season is) here, we don’t have much of a choice. Our kids were a little bit defeated that they didn’t get a chance to play in the playoffs after the season they had in football. It would like to congratulate coach (Corey) Fickiesen on being able to change the culture and that short amount of time. Getting the kids to believe is a testament to him. I feel like that is going to carry over into our season as well,” said Seidel.
Can you take momentum from one sport to another? Seidel sure hopes so. “It is the first season each year. I think it does a lot and confidence goes a long way. When you start believing in yourself. (Coach Fickiesen) is part of our program as well. You start getting kids to believe in themselves that they can accomplish more than they have in the past you are on to something,” he said.
The Trojans return three of their top scorers in Simon Blair, Isiah Seidel, the son the coach, and David Lamoreaux, who was part of that football team, and one of the leading receivers in the conference.
They have lost in the district semifinals the last two years and Seidel would like to find a way to get over that hurdle. “For whatever reason we have not been able to get over the hump in the tournament and I am trying some different things this fall and the beginning of this season that hopefully will help us have a little bit more of an edge come February. It seems like we are peaking at the wrong time, a little too early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Hopefully, we can get that solved this year. We had a really good summer. We won our team camp and in order to do that you have to make a tournament run within the camp and I think it was a good feeling for the kids to be able to continue to win and advance against pretty good competition.”
Published 11/09/18
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South Central Has a Lot to Play for
They are trying to build a program at South Central and a win on Friday night is going to help the Trojans a lot.
They still have an outside chance to earn a division seven playoff berth and a win will give them seven the most the program has had in 36 years.
It was a tough loss last week for the Trojans as Crestview scored twice in the second half and beat them (21-12) in a Firelands Conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they had a lot of chances to win the game. “The first half our first three possessions we felt pretty good. The first possession we drove all of the way down inside the 10 and kind of got stalled out and then our next two possessions we scored on. Then the weather change happened and we just didn’t handle it as well as we should have. We were still somewhat affective we got down to the goal line and fumbled and that’s when the momentum kind of took a turn. It just wasn’t a very good call on my part. I have been rethinking about all of that, all of the different calls that could have been made, but at this point we have to move on and get ready for this week,” said Fickiesen.
South Central (6-3,3-3) plays at home against New London (0-9,0-6) as part of rivalry week in the Firelands Conference.
Fickiesen says know how these rivalry game typically go. “When you get to week 10 in the Firelands and its rivalry week. Week 10 across the state are your rival type games and that is what it is for us. It doesn’t matter the sport when you play New London you know what you are going to get. Both teams are going to play as hard as they can because regardless of records and it is going to be a huge win for either side,” he said.
New London lost (40-0) to Mapleton last week and they carry a 16 game regular season losings streak. Still, Fickiesen says they have some players that can do things. “On film they have gotten a lot better and you can tell that from the three films that we have and I think we saw them early in the year. They have improved and coach Keys has done a really good job over there allowing them to stay on course. Getting better is most coach’s goal and that is what they have continued to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They go with a two quarterback system with the Wilson kid, who can throw the ball really well, and then the Hess kid, that can run the ball really well. So, they are able to kind of put you in situations where you have to determine what they are going to do. Sometimes it throws you off with different guys in there. We just have to continue to stay focused and stay disciplined.”
Fickiesen says this game on Friday night is very important to the entire program heading into the future. “We heard the last time we have won seven games here was 1981. I think it has only been done four or five times in school history, so it is a big deal to get to the seven wins. All hope is not lost on the playoffs. There is still a chance. We need some things to happen and quite few of them and we understand that, but it is still there. So, we are at week 10 and we are not out of the playoff race and that is a big deal for our kids and just for our program as a whole. We have been excited about this week it is another opportunity on our home field, which we know for sure is going to be the last one. We want to make sure our last game this year is a big one,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/26/18
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South Central Focused on Crestview
South Central has never made the playoffs, they have a chance this year, but they are going to need to win out.
They play Crestview this week and New London on week 10.
The Trojans lost to Firelands Conference leader Norwalk St. Paul (45-6) last week, dropping them two games behind the Flyers in the conference standings.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says to beat a team like St. Paul you have to be nearly perfect and there were far from that. “Going into the game we knew they were a really good football team and we were going to have to play one our best games to be able to hang in there and beat them and we did not do that. We made a lot of mistakes and when you do those kinds of things against a good football team you are not going to have a chance to beat them. Credit coach Livengood and their game plan because they were ready to play. We just made too many mistakes, so we are getting ready for Crestview and moving on to this week,” said Fickiesen.
In order to get back on the winning track, they have lost two of their last three, Fickiesen says they have to be better blockers and tacklers. “We have to go back to some of the fundamental things, blocking, tackling, taking care of the football, just some of those little things you have to clean up. When you are playing a good, quality team like Crestview those things are going to be a big deal. Regardless of what their record is they are a good football team. They have really good athletes, they have big kids up front, so we are going to have another one of those games where we have to play really well if we want to go in there and get a win,” he said.
South Central (6-2,3-2) plays at Crestview (3-5,2-3) this week. The Cougars beat New London (30-0) last Friday, breaking a three game losing skid.
Fickiesen says you have to make good pre snap adjustments against the Cougar offense, which does a lot of things. “They like to move people around and do shifts and motions and try and get you looking one way and go the other way. Surprisingly the option isn’t mixed in as much as we have seen in the past, but they still like it. The King kid at quarterback does a really good job running the football, but he can also throw it. They have a couple of pretty good running backs and they are big up front. Like I said it is another challenge for as we know every Firelands Conference game is going to be. We are just excited for another opportunity to get to go play,” said Fickiesen.
South Central is the only school in the Firelands Conference to have never made the football playoffs, but Fickisen says their focus must be on Crestview and not the playoffs. “Obviously, this time of year you have to be playing your best football and we have to to beat a good team like this. We are trying not to focus as much on that, just do our job and we will see at the end of the year where we are at because if we start to overlook Crestview and think we have to do this, this and this they will beat us and nothing will matter. We are just focused on this week and Crestview and going in there and hopefully competing to the best of our ability,” he said.
Published 10/16/18
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South Central Must Play With Great Effort
South Central hosts Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night and to have a chance their coach says they have to play very hard.
The Trojans, last week, hung on to beat Western Reserve (30-29) in a conference game. An Evan Legg to David Lamoreaux scoring pass on the first play of the fourth quarter gave South Central a (30-23) lead, but the Roughriders came storming back and cut the lead to one on Jacob Martz scored with just over two minutes to play, but they missed the tying extra point. Legg finished with three TD passes.
South Central coach Corey Fickisen says it really was a great high school football game. “It was an exciting game to be part of as a fan for sure. As a coach your heart starts to beat a little bit there hoping that our kids can hold on and continue to play really hard and pull it out and that’s what we did. We are proud of them. You have to give a lot of credit to Western. Their coaches over there, they had a great game plan. Both teams played really hard and both teams had a chance to win. Just we were able to come out on top,” said Fickiesen.
He added they had to battle to the end to win. “I knew coming into the Firelands Conference it didn’t matter record wise who you were playing each week it was going to be a battle. That was proven last week against Western. Their record does not show how good of a football team they really are. They have some kids that can make some plays and we knew that coming in and they did make some plays. We were happy we were able to go over there and battle hard. Our kids were able grow up a little bit. We had some younger guys that had to play and they took some steps that were good to see at this time of year,” said Fickiesen.
Cristiano Murphy picked off a pass with 11 seconds to go to lock up the win.
Now, this week, the Trojans (6-1,3-1) host Norwalk St. Paul (6-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division. The Flyers are the conference leader by a game over South Central and Mapleton. St. Paul has won 43 Firelands Conference games in a row.
Fickiesen says they are just very fundamental and they play very hard and, well, they are well coached. “It is your normal Norwalk St. Paul team. They are very well coached, obviously, coach Livengood is one the best in the area it not the state and we can go as far as nation. He gets the best our of those kids. They have three kids over 200 pounds and that is it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “When they are coming at you it looks like it is a lot more than 170 or 180 or whatever they are. So, they play really hard. They have that tradition. They are used to being in the position of winning. They are used to being in this position of 6-1 later in the year. So, all of those things flair into one.”
Fickisen says the Flyers have good athletes and their technique is refined. “You get running backs like the Caizzo kid and the Good kid. Number 4 on the edge is a tremendous athlete. Their quarterback throws the ball really well. Up front every year they are very good, their technique is very good. They are going to play very hard, which is the biggest thing that you have to try and match. If you don’t play hard they are going to take it to you it is as simple as that. We have just been talking about playing as hard as we possibly can and letting the chips fall where they may,” he said.
Published 10/09/18
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South Central Must Execute in Red Zone
South Central lost for the first time this year last week and they must respond well in practice as they prepare for an improved Western Reserve on the road in Firelands conference play on Friday night.
Leading (12-7) at the half, Mapleton outscored the Trojans (21-0) in the second half to come up with a (28-12) win last week. The win kept Mapleton tied with Norwalk St. Paul for first in the league. The Trojans are now a game back tied with Western Reserve.
South Central coach Corey Fickiesen says they had opportunities in the second half and didn’t cash in. “We actually fumbled on the goal line in the first half, so it is very possible we could have been up two scores going into halftime. In the second half we were in the red zone four times and we didn’t score it. When you play a quality team like Mapleton they are going to take advantage of that and that’s what they did. You can credit their defense for stopping us in the red zone four times and they were able to hit some big plays on us. They executed better than us, that is the bottom line,” said Fickiesen.
With the team experiencing a loss for the first time this year, Fickiesen says this will be an important practice week for them, especially mentally. “Starting out 5-0 and this being our first loss it is going to be a good week of practice to kind of see how we go about that. This is the first time we have been faced with this challenge. Saturday morning when we came in the bumps and bruises they hurt a little more after a loss than they do a win, but we were very focused and were ready. We were upset by how we played, but we are ready to refocus and have a great week of practice and go over to Western Reserve and play a very good, improving football team,” he said.
South Central (5-1,2-1) is at Western Reserve (2-4,2-1) on week seven, and week four of conference play, on Friday night. Western bottled up Plymouth (23-10) in a conference game last week. They beat New London (42-7) the week before.
Fickiesen says the Rough Riders have a very good run game and they try to get to the line of scrimmage on defense and make you throw it. “Their running back, the Martz kid, is very good. He is at the top of the conference in rushing and there is a reason for that. They have some big kids up front that block pretty well. Defensively, they are going to play that 4-3 and they are going to try stop the run game. They want to make you try and throw it. They have some athletes offensively and defensively, but they are really centered around their guys up front,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “Offensively, they want to run the ball right at you. Defensively, they are going to try and get some pressure on you and be able to stop the run. So, it is going to be a task for our guys up front this week on how physical we can really be and coming off a loss how will we respond. Those are questions that we have to get answered if we want to go there and beat a very good football team.”
South Central has two of the top receivers in the Firelands Conference in David Lamoreaux and Cristiano Murphy. Both have more than 25 catches and Lamoreaux has 10 TD catches. Quarterback Evan Legg is second in the conference in passing yards.
There are going to be some opportunities to throw the ball Friday night, but Fickiesen says they must execute. “At the high school level where you are never really sure about anything because there are a lot of variables that go in there. We have guys that can make plays, but we have to execute and we didn’t do that on Friday night, so we have to get some stuff cleaned up this week in practice, especially when we get into the red zone on offense and then taking away big plays on defense, which we haven’t allowed all year until this past week. We are going to make sure we kind of focus in and clean some stuff up this week and be able to go on Friday,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/01/18
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South Central With Big One Against Mapleton
South Central is at home for Mapleton in maybe the biggest football game for the Trojans since “ET” invaded movie screens. The winner becomes the major competitor of Norwalk St. Paul, who sits on the Firelands Conference thrown.
The Trojans are a real factor in the conference race for the first time since the early 80’s and are unbeaten through five games for the first time since 1963. Mapleton has won four straight.
Last week, the Trojans railed to beat Monroeville (33-20) in a Firelands Conference game. Coach Corey Fickiesen says it was a huge win for them. “We went up 19-7 and unfortunately they had a kid that got hurt and had to be taken out by an ambulance and it kind of gave them a spark and they rallied and had a little more energy at that time then we did and went up 20-19, but our kids were able to hang in there and reel it back in. We did the things that we needed to late in the third and in the fourth quarter to sustain some drives and keep the ball out of their hands and go down and get some scores. It was a huge win for us going over there and taking one from them. We are happy with the performance,” said Fickiesen.
South Central also rallied to beat Willard in their season opener and Fickiesen says they are learning how to win. “We have had a couple of games this year where we have got up and we kind of let the other guys back in it and we were able to kind of refocus and get things going and pull it out. Those kinds of games matter at this time of year. A situation like this week you never know what is going to happen. It could get close late and we have to kind of be ready for that. Luckily, we have played in some games like that and Mapleton has too. So, it is going to be quite the test this week for us,” he said.
Mapleton (4-1,2-0) handled Crestview (21-13) last week and are led by All-Ohio quarterback Logan Pharmer, who has thrown 16 TD’s this season. However, South Central signal caller Evan Legg is right on his heels with 14.
Fickiesen says the Mounties are more than just Pharmer. “We you start talking about a kid that has been an All-Ohioan this will be all an likely be his third year. All four years he has been all conference. Anyone you talk to in the area knows who he is and how good he is. I’ll tell you what he has some kids around him. Both of the Hartley brothers are really good athletes, the (Gage) Scurlock kid at receiver is really good. He has some guys up front that are very athletic, similar to us, up front. You flip around on the defensive side they have the (Adam) Shadd kid that plays linebacker and he is really athletic,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They have kids all over the field. It is a very similar feel to where we are at. Both offenses kind of stem from Ashland University and coach Owens. It is almost like you are looking in a mirror sometimes. It is going to be whichever defense comes to play with the right intensity and the right physicality. It is going to be a fun one.”
Published 9/28/18
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South Central Keeping its Head on Straight
South Central has won all its games so far this season, but they understand there are six more to be played.
They stuffed Plymouth (22-7) last Friday in a Firelands Conference game.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says the defense executed its game plan very well, the offense not so much. “Our defense was very good last week. We had talked all week about being the more physical team and having more energy than them and being the first ones to attack. We knew that is what we needed to do with the offense that they run and we were able to do that. Obviously, our offense didn’t play the way we wanted to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Our defense pretty much scored twice. We had an interception for a touchdown and another interception that we took down to the five. Our offense had way too many penalties and kind of held us back in putting the ball in the end zone a little but more when we had opportunities. I thought overall our effort, especially on defense was pretty good.”
Fickiesen says there is starting to be some chatter about things and the success they are having, but he cautions the players about looking ahead. “Anytime you get off to a start like this people get a little bit more excited and you her a little more talk and chatter, which is good for our kids. That 4-0 start does not give us anymore points against Monroeville or it doesn’t guarantee us anything. We are glad we are in this position, but we are not okay with it, we are not satisfied or any of those terms. We are going to continue to go give our best effort every week and it has to start this week in practice because we have a tough task on Friday night,” he said.
South Central (4-0,1-0) is at Monroeville (2-2,0-1) in Firelands Conference action on Friday night at Marsh Field. The Eagles lost their conference opener to Mapleton (42-22) last week.
Fickiesen says the Eagles are going to try to run the ball on them. “They run the football a lot and they run it very well. They have some kids back there that run the football really hard. The Rogers kid is going to come at you are he is going to lower his pads. He is able to be a little bit shifty when he needs to. Their quarterback when he gets out in the open he is very difficult to slow down. They have a couple of other running backs that are very fast and shifty, but also not afraid to lower their shoulder when they need to. It is a tough task, we have to defensively be sound an be ready to stop the run,” said Fickiesen.
The South Central coach says they need to have a similar approach this week that they did last week against Plymouth. “It is very similar to what we talked about last week we have to be physical. We have to come at them and not set back and wait or they are going to run it all over us. They have shown that these last couple of weeks that they can run the football and you let them get going it can be scary,” he said.
Published 9/19/18
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South Central Needs to Punch First
South Central hosts Plymouth in a battle of rivals on the opening night of Firelands Conference play on Friday night in Greenwich.
The Trojans are off to a (3-0) start for the first time since 2006.
They beat Crestline (38-13) last week and coach Corey Fickiesen says they have played three pretty good games so far. “We have played pretty well all three weeks against pretty good teams except for Willard in that second half we should have cleaned some stuff up. We got out 3-0 and that was the goal and now we are refocused and ready for Firelands Conference play. It’s a big one Friday night against Plymouth,” he said.
Consistency is the goal of every football team and Fickiesen says they need to continue to improve in that aspect of the game. “There are multiple things that we have picked out that we have go to be better at. Just being more consistent is the biggest thing up front, defensively, offensively. Consistency is what makes you a good football team or any other sport. It comes down to being consistent and being good at everything all of the time. So, we are just going to continue to work and prefect our craft,” said Fickiesen.
Plymouth won the matchup last year (56-29) in Plymouth.
Fickiesen says on Friday night they have to be the more aggressive team that attacks. “We saw that last year. It is time to kind of button that chin strap up a little tighter and get ready to get after it because they are going to come at you with all 11 guys right downhill. They know where they are going. You know where you are going. Can you stop it? That is what it comes down to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “That is going to be our focus this week in practice, just shoring that up and kind of being ready to take everything on. Being in attack mode is what we are going to be preaching. We can’t set back and wait we have to be the ones to attack.”
Plymouth runs the double wing, double tight offense. Fickiesen says against that offense that ends up being a rugby scrum they have to be disciplined. “The last couple of weeks they have had two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks where he just gets lost in there and pops out the other side and ends up scoring on a 20 or 30 yard touchdown run. It is important that we are disciplined and we are the ones attacking and not letting them bring it to us. It is not going to work. Coach Genders has done a great job over there whether you like it or not, it is working for them. It is going to be a tough matchup for us. We are going to put in a lot of work this week and we will see what ends up on Friday night,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/11/18
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South Central Meets Improving Crestline
South Central has a chance to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule unbeaten. They need a win Friday night in their home opener with the Crestline Bulldogs.
The Trojans (2-0) hammered Danbury Lakeside (54-14) last week after an overtime victory over Willard (32-26) on the first week.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they have been able to do a lot of things when they have the ball. “I just think that we are understanding what we need to do. It all starts with the guys up front. They worked pretty hard this summer and in the camp. They have a pretty good grasp on our run game and our pass game and protecting Even (Legg,) who also has a had a really good first two games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “He has some guys kind of take some pressure off of him with David Lamoreaux and Cristiano Murphy catching the ball and making some plays. We have been able to run the ball affectively too. So, when you mix all of that together you are going to move the ball and you are going to score points. We have done it both games, so it has went well.”
On defense, Fickiesen says they have played pretty overall, except for some break downs that have led to scores. “We have played pretty well. We have had a couple of break downs here and there. Consistency wise, other than those break downs, we have been pretty good. We just have to clean that up a little bit and eliminate some of those break downs, but it is early in the year and we have some young guys out there and they are learning a lot early, so that is a good thing,” he said.
Crestline (1-1) beat Buckeye Central (26-6) in its first game. The Bulldogs lost last Friday to Fisher Catholic (35-7) in non-conference play.
Fickiesen says they are going to try and show his team a lot of different things, so they are going to have to be disciplined. “They have some athletes. The (Kaden) Ronk kid at receiver is very athletic, he is returning kicks and punts. The quarterback Ty Clark is back after a really good year. They have some really good athletes that they try and get out in space and do some different things with. Defensively, they will switch from a three to a four man front to try and confuse you. They will blitz different guys and change some different coverages just to change things up, so you are not sure where they are and what they are doing. So, we are going to have to be pretty disciplined this week and knowing where they are at and what they are doing and try and take advantage of some of those things,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/03/18
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South Central Must Continue to Work Hard
South Central knocked off Willard in overtime last week and now they face a trip north to meet the Danbury Lakeside Lakers in their second straight non-conference game against a team from the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says there were some ebbs and flows to their (32-26) win over Willard, but he was proud they were able to rally. “You get up 20-0 and you feel pretty decent about what you are doing and where you are at. We go into have time and we were talking about you can’t be complacent because they are a very good football team and they have a quarterback that can bring them back if we let them and that’s what happened,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We let them come back, but fortunately we were able to pick ourselves back up and do some of the stuff we did early on we did late there in the fourth quarter and in overtime. So, it is great to get a win on week one, but to have some lessons learned early in the season is a nice thing as well.”
Lakeside (1-0) won at Vanlue (28-14) in their first game and Fickiesen says they are a physical team and their program understands winning. “We have now been watching film quite a bit. They lost a couple of their pretty good kids from last year, but they also have a couple of their pretty good kids back. They have a couple of big running backs that are big physical kids. On the offensive line they have four or five big, strong kids. It is going to be a test. You have to go all of the way up along the lake. It is a team that is two years removed from a playoff run and still has that taste in their mouths and you can see that they want to get back there. So, it is going to be a test for us going all of the way up there and we will see how we face it,” said Fickiesen.
South Central’s best record over the last 30 seasons is (6-4) and if they can win Friday night they hopefully can build some momentum toward a good season. However, Fickiesen says they will have to earn it. “Obviously, they have been hearing about, you won the first one, now you should just win the second one, and this, this and this, but none of the rest of that stuff matters if we don’t focus on this week. If we are fortunate enough to go up there and play really well we can pull one out we are going to set ourselves up in a good spot. That is what we expected coming into the year, but you have to go do it. You can’t just expect it, you have to get the job done. That is what we are looking forward to doing this week,” he said.
Published 8/30/18
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South Central and Willard Meet for the First Time
South Central out of the Firelands Conference plays at Willard out of the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference in a non-conference football game on Friday night.
It is the first meeting between the two schools or at least the first meeting in a very long time.
South Central coach Corey Fickiesen says he has been pleased with the progress he has seen from his team and they are looking forward to Friday night. “You get through the three scrimmages and your preview and all of that, but none of that is a true Friday night high school football game that counts for 1-0 or 0-1. You are never really sure until you get there and the lights are on and you take the field and kind of see, but we had a good week last week, we had a good preview game and then we started the week off right (Monday.) The old cliché we are trying to get better every day and hopefully be ready to go on Friday night over at Willard and their new stadium with that turf. It will be a big night. Even though it is a non-conference game it will have that conference feel. It will be a big game for both sides, we are excited,” said Fickiesen.
There are always going to be some jitters in the opener and Fickiesen hopes they can lose those in a hurry. “A lot of that comes with kids and experience. Obviously, your kids out there that are new are going to have those butterflies, so it is kind of just get in the flow of the game early on. Try to get it out as early as you can essentially. Some of those older guys that have done this for two, three, four years you are kind of expecting them to for the first couple of plays have that excitement and those jitters, but after that be ready to go play football like you know how to do and you have done. It will be exciting for both sides, both sides are going to have it, it is week one. So, we will see what happens,” he said.
Fickiesen says the Flashes have a good team that can be explosive. “Their quarterback is really good. The (Cooper) Parrott kid who is coming back from Western Reserve Academy is really good, he keeps the plays alive, he has a very good arm. He scrambles around and makes things happen. Their running back is only a sophomore, but he is very shifty. He can be explosive at times,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They lost some guys up front, but the guys they still have up there are still those big strong kids. They have a couple of receivers coming back that are solid. The (Myles) Pinkston kid is a deep threat. They have another senior that is a deep threat.”
Both teams run a lot of the same stuff on both offense and defense and Fickiesen says that has made preparation a little easier, for both sides. “Offensively and defensively they are very similar to us. So, when you are going through camp and you are kind of running your stuff on offense and defense, so we have essentially been facing what they are going to do for three weeks now and that helps, but on the other side of that they do pretty similar to what we do, so it is the same thing for them. It is going to come down to who executes better. They do some good things that we are going to have to take away if we want to go over there and get a win,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/22/18
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South Central Working on the Trenches
South Central has some athletes that can be explosive, but the key to a better season for the Trojans is what they can do up front on both sides of the football.
Second year head coach Corey Fickiesen says the summer went really for them in his opinion. “Overall, the summer went really well for us. We had our guys here everyday for lifting, which was a huge help in just getting stronger and the comradery of guys being around each other. So, that kind helped carry us into practice the last couple of days. We are starting to mesh pretty well it seems like and a lot of that was because of the summer,” said Fickisen.
Last year, the Trojans showed the ability to make the big play and they have that protentional this year. Fickiesen says in order to be more competitive they have to better in the trenches. “In high school football it always comes down to the guys up front offensively and defensively. Can you run the football and can you stop the run? So, we have put a ton of emphasis on our blocking schemes, our pass protection, those types of things, offensively and defensively. I think if we can kind of take care of that we have some athletes that if they can get out in space they can make things happen. We have to take care of our job with the stuff going on up front first,” he said.
Consistency is what every coach wants and that is what the good teams have it seems every year. Fickiesen says they have shown good leadership to that end so far this summer. “That is why the teams that are always at the top in our conference is because they are consistent. There is no, well, these guys graduated so we have to refresh. It’s reload, everyone knows what to expect. They know what’s going on in the program so when they are there they know what to do and that is what we are trying to get to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We have some guys that were here last year that kind of set that standard and a couple of years before that. The guys we have now, the upperclassmen, have taken the lead and are now setting that example and kind of carrying our younger guys with them. Come on, this is how we do it. That is a great thing to see this early in the year.”
Published 8/02/18
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South Central Beats Mohawk in Districts
Isiah Seidel went the distance allowing three hits and striking out 11 and Ben Lamoreaux had four hits as South Central downed Mohawk (6-1) in a division four district semifinal in Galion on Wednesday.
The Trojans return Friday to face fellow Firelands Conference member Plymouth for the district title. The Big Red shutout Seneca East (5-0) in Wednesday’s first game.
Seidel struck out the side in the top of the first, but he needed 26 pitches to do it. “He is just such a competitor. I think he was at a point where he had too much energy and he wasn’t executing his mechanics very well and overthrowing a little bit. We got him settled down and we were able to hold him down there. He was able to come out and throw a great game for us,” said South Central coach Ty Dendinger.
Mohawk struck first blood by scoring their only run in the top of the fourth on a double by Bryce Kirian and an RBI single by Tyler Hayman. “You always feel good scoring first it gives you a confidence boost. I was hoping we could relax a little bit defensively and feel more confident making plays with the lead, but they came right back and found some ways to score themselves and put the pressure right back on us. We lost a little bit of control on the mound and they had a couple timely hits and that’s baseball,” said Mohawk coach Eric Hoover.
South Central got in the board with three in their half of the fourth. Lamoreaux got on with an infield hit and stole a base and Tyson Cooper walked. Curtis Fredericks followed with an RBI single. After Josh Mayer walked, Grant Seidel followed with a two run single to make it (3-1) Trojans.
Dendinger says were starting take advantage of the right pitches. “Give their pitcher credit he had us off balance and he was doing anything he wanted to do the first few innings. We stayed the course and we kept preaching to be aggressive on fastballs and we got a few guys to really step up and get the big hit for us,” he said.
South Central would score another in the fifth on an RBI single by Cooper and two in the sixth on an infield single by Lamoreaux and RBI groundout by Isiah Seidel.
Dendinger felt they were more aggressive at the plate as the game wore on. “We were taking a lot of good pitches, especially called third strikes early. I talked to the guys you have to be ready. We want to hit here in these big situations and some guys came through in the clutch for us,” he said.
Plymouth beat South Central twice in conference games, including (9-3) last Saturday. Dendinger says its is time from some revenge. “They have got us twice, we owe them, but they are a great team. The guy they are going to roll out there on the mound is going to be tough to hit. We are going to roll Ben Lamoreaux out on the mound and we will see how it goes,” he said.
Published 5/17/18
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www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball scoresTrojans Get Past Cubs
Isiah Seidel led South Central past Lucas (5-4) in the division four sectional final in Greenwich on Thursday evening.
Seidel broke a (4-4) tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI single to give the Trojans the lead. “Isiah Seidel came through with a big hit and helped out his own cause after Simon Blair got on and stole second. Isiah was able to put it in play and got us a run,” said coach Ty Dendinger.
Seidel also went all seven innings on the mound striking out 11 and allowing only four hits.
Lucas scored three times in the top of the first inning, but after that Dendinger says Seidel was able to bear down n allowed only one more run, which came in the top of the fifth when Lucas tied the game. “Give them credit they were able to hit the ball early on in the game. We had an error on the first batter of the game and a couple of misreads in the outfield,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They took advantage and did a nice job of driving in three runs, but fortunately we didn’t let it bother us too much and we were able to match them with three in the bottom half of the first inning.”
Jeb Grover started for Lucas and he struck out 12 over six innings, but the Trojans were able to collect 11 hits. Dendinger felt it was important for them to bounce back in that first inning. “As a freshman he was able to beat us in the tournament, so we knew he was a really good pitcher and we were able to get those right back. I was really happy because I knew runs were going to be at a premium with him on the mound,” he said.
Seidel, Blair and Ben Lamoreaux all had two hits for South Central, who will play Mohawk in the division four district semifinals next Wednesday at Galion High School. Mohawk beat Crestline (10-4) on Thursday.
However, before then they have three games to finish up in the Firelands Conference, beginning with Monroeville on Friday. Dendinger says they certainly have some things to work on. “We have Monroeville (Friday) and I’m happy to get Ben (Lamoreaux) back on the mound and give him some innings. Hopefully we can get some guys that have been struggling at the plat and get them going again. Just kind of stay tuned up and ready to go next Wednesday with Mohawk,” said Dendinger.
Published 5/11/18
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www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball scoreSouth Central Closes to One
South Central beat Firelands Conference leader Norwalk St. Paul (7-1) in a big conference game on Monday and reduced their deficit to just one game in the baseball standings.
Crestview is also a game back after beating New London (2-1) on Monday.
Ben Lamoreaux went the distance for the Trojans striking out 10, allowing just four hits and no earned runs. “It was about the second full game we have played. We hit really well, we fielded it well and a really good pitching performance out of Ben Lamoreaux (Monday) night,” said coach Ty Dendinger.
Sophomore Isaiah Seidel has been the staff ace all year, but he pitched Saturday against Mapleton, an (11-7) win, and is expected to start the Trojans (12-5) tournament game this week. So, Dendinger handed the ball to Lamoreaux. “I pitched Isiah (Seidel) on Saturday to try and get another win in the conference and give us an opportunity to still compete with St. Paul for the title. I knew Ben was going to have to step up (Monday) night. Our offense got us a couple of runs early and allowed him to settle down and he threw his best game of the season by far,” said Dendinger.
South Central put up single tallies in the first and second innings and added four in the third.
Seidel was a standout on offense on Monday against St. Paul. He had four hits and Dendinger says he has started to swing a pretty hot bat. “Isiah Seidel led us on the offensive side (Monday.) He went four for four with two doubles and two RBI. So, he is really coming on at the plate,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win against St. Paul, “That is really big we need him hitting here at the end of the year. We have a few guys that are struggling a little bit that we have been relying on all year. It is nice to have Isiah picking us up on the offensive side.”
To move into a share of first place, the Trojans are going to have to beat the Flyers again on Tuesday. Dendinger says they are going need an even better performance. “We have had some trouble with our league back to backs. We just don’t seem to have the energy the second day that we have the first day. Going up to St. Paul they are a really, really quality team and we are going to have to bring an even better game (Tuesday) at their place. They are going to be ready for us. I feel like I am confident in my team, but we are definitely going to have to bring our “A” game again (Tuesday,” said Dendinger.
Published 5/08/18
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www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball scoresSouth Central Downs Crestview
South Central kept itself in the Firelands Conference race with a (5-2) win at Crestview on Wednesday night.
South Central (6-3,4-2) is a game behind conference leader Norwalk St. Paul and coach Ty Dendinger says the win over the Cougars was huge for them. “Every game in the conference is very critical. We dropped one last Friday against Plymouth that was a game that I felt like we needed to win to stay on pace with some of the leaders in the conference, but we bounced back (Wednesday) and got a win against a pretty good Crestview team,” he said.
Crestview had been putting some good pitching performances together and Dendinger says it took them a while to get locked in. “The Reick kid threw a real nice game. He is not overpowering, but he does a real good job keeping teams off balance and kind of keeping them on their front foot,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “It took us about four innings to really get on him and keep our weight back. We ended up scoring three runs in the fifth inning. That was a big turning point in the game for us.”
Dendinger says they were likely too aggressive early in the game. “We were hitting his pitches and not waiting on our pitch. We started doing that a little bit better towards the end of the game and came through with some clutch hits and that was kind of the difference,” he said.
South Central ace Isiah Seidel went six innings striking out nine and giving up three hits. Plus, Dendinger says he got some outstanding defense behind him, in particular from shortstop Simon Blair. “Simon Blair made two amazing plays in a critical inning in the middle of the game when we were still down 2-1. I told the kids that Simon just made two plays that would be in the top 10 on ESPN web gems. Isiah (Seidel) really relied on his defense. We played really well and he still came up with nine strikeouts for us,” said Dendinger.
Published 4/26/18
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www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball resultsSouth Central Downs Rival New London
Isiah Seidel fired a one hitter and Ben Lamoreaux had three hits and three runs batted in as South Central went to New London and knocked off the perennial Firelands Conference power Wildcats (4-2) on Monday.
Seidel, a sophomore, had 10 strikeouts on the night and coach Ty Dendinger says he has worked hard to get where he is on the mound. “Isiah has been working for a really long time getting himself ready to play and he really pitched well for us (Monday) night,” he said.
Dendinger says he knows whenever he gives the ball to Seidel the Trojans are going to have a chance to win. “I have as much confidence in him as I can have. I know that he will go out there even if he doesn’t have his best stuff and he will just battle and do everything he can do to help the team win,” said Dendinger.
South Central scored twice in the first and twice in the top of the
seventh to get the win. Dendinger says New London’s Peyton Wilson was on the
top of his game too, but had some good situational hitting. “Peyton Wilson
pitched a really nice game and I think he had 12 strikeouts. I was really
pleased with my team to go out and scratch out two runs in the first inning
and two more in the seventh,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Ben
Lamoreaux had a really nice game at the plate he was 3-3 with three RBI.
South Central (4-1,2-0) plays host to New London (2-2,1-1) on Tuesday,
weather permitting. Dendinger says this one might be even more important for
the Trojans. “I was talking to my assistant coach and we were excited
(Monday) night. We have that nervous energy for (Tuesday) hoping we do the
same. I have a lot of confidence my pitcher that we can get a similar
performance on the mound (Tuesday,) said Dendinger.
Published 4/10/18
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South Central Has the Goods
South Central may have the tools to make some noise in the Firelands Conference race this year.
They won their first baseball game (6-2) over Bucyrus in a non-conference game on Monday.
Coach Ty Dendinger says that is a signal that this could be a pretty good year for the Trojans. “This the first time in six years that we have gotten a win in the first game against Bucyrus. I talked to old coach at South Central, Mr. (Darren) Hunt, and he said every year he had a good season it always started out with a win against Bucyrus. That’s always a good win against a pretty good program,” he said.
South Central scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning on Monday to win the game. Starting pitcher Isiah Seidel went the distance scattering two hits and Dendinger says he really gave them a chance to win. “Isiah (Seidel) really kept us in the game. He had 14 strikeouts and only one walk, so we were really leaning on him. We are starting six sophomores and I knew the bats were going to lag behind a little bit. Once the nerves kind of got out. The guys didn’t get down. I told them we were going to win it and they went out and did the job,” said Dendinger.
South Central (1-0) is scheduled to play at home against Norwayne, of the Wayne County Athletic League, on Thursday, weather permitting. They begin Firelands Conference play against Monroeville next Monday and Tuesday.
Dendinger says this a team that can do some things as long as they believe in each other and handle the mental part of the game. “We have the potential. This year we have been working on a lot of team building things, a lot of chemistry building things. I think we have the potential to have a pretty successful season. When we get in those clutch situations at the end of games we have to trust our teammates,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They are not just guys that we play with, but guys that we trust to do their job and everybody knows their role. Tyson Cooper didn’t get to play until starting off the last inning and he went out and did his role. He got on the base and ended scoring the tying run and then we scored a few more after that to kind of put it away.”
Published 3/28/18
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South Central and St. Paul Again, This time in Sectional
South Central and Norwalk St. Paul, both of the Firelands Conference, play for the second time in a week, this time in the division four sectional final on Friday night at Galion High School.
South Central won (69-59) last week and with that win claimed a share of the conference title with Western Reserve.
Playing them so quickly again is kind of out of the ordinary, according to South Central coach Brett Seidel. “It is not uncommon it has happened several times with St. Paul, a few times with Plymouth in the past, playing them three times in a year. The back to back weekends, just playing them last Friday, definitely adds a different dynamic,” he said.
When it comes to adjustments St. Paul might make, Seidel says they need to be ready for about anything on both ends. “I am not going to make a guess or prediction of what they are going to try and do. We are going to try and be ready anything. We have seen different defenses throughout the year from faceguards to chasers to double teams. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t get the whole kitchen sink. We are going to try and prepare and be ready for all of it,” said Seidel.
South Central was able to win by 10 points last week with all-district sophomore guard Simon Blair on the bench quite a bit. Seidel does not want that to happen this time. “Everybody knows we are different with him on the floor. Our guys know it, he knows it, other teams know it and definitely “Smitty” knows it. We are going to try our best to play as clean as we can and hopefully stay on the floor,” he said.
Blair, the Trojans leading scorer this year, has become a better passer and floor general and that is what impresses Seidel the most about his improvement as a player. “He continues to grow. He continues to help his teammates get better. That is the sign of true talent in my opinion when you can not only create shots for yourself, but shots for others and make your teammates better. That is something he is starting to do really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “He is a sophomore, but now he has two years of experience under his belt, so he is basically a junior. His strength is what has impressed me the most. He is getting bumped and guarded tight, double teamed, and being able to play through all of that is what has really impressed me.”
Published 3/01/18
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South Central Has to Bring it
South Central’s assignment this Friday is an easy one to understand, but it maybe harder to execute.
If they beat Norwalk St. Paul at home they will have no less than a share of the Firelands Conference title.
They slipped back into a tie for first place in the conference last week with Western Reserve when the Roughriders beat them (53-44) on Friday.
They were able to get back on the court on Saturday night and beat Sandusky St. Mary’s (60-58) in a non-conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says that was a good thing. “Yeah, St. Mary’s is dangerous. They are very good offensively. For us to get back on the floor and get that taste out of our mouth from Western was good for the kids,” he said.
South Central won the first meeting with St. Paul (63-45) on January 18. However, Seidel knows the Flyers are going to be better this time. “Coach Smith is always going to have his kids ready to play. They are going to be well prepared. They will have a really good game plan and come over and probably compete at a very high level. We are going to have to match intensity and be ready to go,” said Seidel.
Norwalk St. Paul (11-10,7-6) beat Tiffin Calvert (48-46) on Tuesday night in non-conference play. They beat Mapleton (57-46) in their last conference game last Friday.
Seidel says they are as athletic as any team in the league. “They are big, they are athletic and their length bothers people on the interior. We are going to have to be really careful with passes and shot fakes and being able to figure out ways to score over them,” he said.
With a win South Central (14-7,11-2) wins at least a part of its second conference title in three years. Seidel says he is not going to try and force emotion out of his team, it should already be there. “This is just my opinion this is why I still coach because of the competitiveness. If you are not a competitive person and you need prompted to give energy and effort in this game you probably shouldn’t be playing basketball, you probably should be doing something else,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Trying to require energy and require emotion and effort for the game of basketball in general to me I don’t think it should be done. On top of that obviously we do know what’s at stake and to beat a quality opponent like St. Paul is enough, but also to have a championship on the line as well. Our kids know what’s at stake. I hope they come our and execute and play hard.”
Published 2/23/18
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It’s a Chance for an Outright Title for South Central
The mathematics are simple, if South Central wins at Western Reserve on Friday night they are outright Firelands Conference champions, if the Roughriders win the schools will be tied for first place with one game to play.
South Central put itself in position by beating Crestview (73-47) last Friday in a conference game,
Coach Brett Seidel says he told his kids they have a rare opportunity and they need to be ready. “At practice the other day we talked about the fact that there are a lot people who are practicing right now for the tournament and we are practicing right now or the opportunity to win a championship. So, that is our focus right now, it’s one game. I have a lot of people asking who did you draw? It is really not a concern right now, not right yet,” he said.
South Central won the first meeting (63-57) on January 30 outside of Greenwich. They outscored the Roughriders (8-0) over the final 1:23 of the game.
Point guard Simon Blair has 21 points, including a big three pointer and very good assist in the last minute of that game. Seidel believes Western Reserve coach Chris Sheldon will have some different defensive plans they will have to handle. “I am expecting him to do something different this time around. Do something different with Simon (Blair.) I expect probably some doubling. A little bit more of trying to take the ball out of his hands,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I expect them to do a few things different and we have a few things that we have added that we are going to be trying to do as well. Either way I believe it is going to be a great ball game. Just like before it is going to come down to the last moments of the fourth quarter.”
Ben Lamoreaux had 19 in that first game against Western and has had a big second half of the season for South Central. Seidel believes he has other players ready to step up if Blair can’t get his hands on the ball. “Well, early on in the season I felt like we were pretty one dimensional. We had some kids playing without a whole lot of confidence. Some kids that still needed to grow up a little bit and mature a little bit. I feel like that has happened as the result of our process throughout the season. I do think we do have some kids that are able to step up and also willing now to step up,” said Seidel.
These are the kinds of the games that people will talk about for years and Seidel says they have put the time in and now it is time to go out and grab that title. “This is why we worked all summer. This is why both teams go to Eastern Ohio Basketball Camp. That’s why we put that time in. I have a lot of kids that put a lot of time in on their own when no one is looking. That is why they do that is to play and have the opportunities to play in games like this,” he said.
Published 2/14/18
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Firelands Conference Leaders Play Crestview
After a very good week last week when they won three conference games, South Central has taken over first place in the Firelands Conference.
They beat Western Reserve (63-57) on Tuesday, Mapleton (72-48) on Friday and Plymouth (52-43) on Saturday. Overall, they have won eight of their last nine games.
Coach Brett Seidel is happy, but not satisfied. “I think we are getting better offensively. We kind went back to a few things on Saturday night. Overall offensively I think we are getting there. Defensively, we are still not there yet. I feel like our effort is, but still communication and concepts are still lacking. We still have lots of areas to be better,” he said.
South Central (12-5,10-1) plays at home against Crestview (4-13,3-7) on Friday night in a conference game. The Trojans won the first meeting (77-51) on January 5.
However, Crestview just upset Western Reserve (68-63) in overtime on Saturday night. They followed that up with a win over Bucyrus (68-65) on Monday in non-league action. “Sometimes it is a process. They added a lot of new players to their system. There were a lot of kids who graduated last year and it took them a little while to get going. The last few games they have been playing well. They beat a really good Western team and then beat Bucyrus on Monday,” said Seidel.
Crestview is aggressive on defense and will try and force the action. Seidel says they have to keep their poise. “The film I have seen they are still playing extremely hard and flying around all over the floor and making things a little uncomfortable for you. We have to make sure we are ball tough and keep your poise and take what the defense gives us,” he said.
There and just three games left in the conference for the Trojans. They play at Western Reserve on February 16 and host Norwalk St. Paul on February 23. Seidel says they know what they have to do. “We have talked about it. We have a bull’s eye on our back now. With three games to play in the league every game is important. Every game is a championship game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “If you lose you take that position away from yourself. So, every game is a championship game and that is how we are approaching it.”
The Trojans have an interesting non-conference game on Saturday night as they travel to Edison (11-6) of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Seidel says they Chargers are big and that has been a problem for them. “They have back to back regional appearances. They are having another good year this year. They play a really good schedule. They have two four year big men. Obviously, we don’t match up well with bigs. It is going to be a very big challenge for us to be able to defend them,” he said.
Published 2/08/18
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South Central Moves into Share of First
South Central outscored Western Reserve (8-0) over the final 1:23 of the game and they beat the Roughriders (63-57) in a Firelands Conference game played at a packed South Central gym on Tuesday night.
The win moved South Central (10-5,8-1) into a share of first place in the conference with Western.
Down (57-55) South Central sophomore Simon Blair connected on a three pointer between the top of the circle and left wing to give the Trojans a (58-57) lead with 1:23 to play. Then South Central stripped the ball away and Blair came charging down the right side of the court and found a wide open Ben Lamoreaux streaking to the hoop with an excellent pass and Lamoreaux put it in, got fouled, and converted the free throw to put South Central a (61-57) lead with :53 seconds to play. Lamoreaux would add another basket with :17 seconds to provide the final margin.
There were seven lead changes and three ties in the deciding fourth quarter.
“They had kids hitting shots, we had kids hitting shots. We just responded back and forth. At the very end of the game I thought we were fortunate to find Ben down the floor for the and one and that closed it out. It speaks highly of our process and our progress right now,” said South Central coach Brett Seidel.
Western Reserve had as big as an eight point (30-22) with 1:45 left in the first half after a goal by Pierce Livermore.
However, coach Chris Sheldon says they couldn’t execute on offense when they needed to the most in the final couple of minutes. “They made (the plays) and we didn’t. “Hoodie” and “Smitty” tried to carry us. They just happened to make one or two more than we did and that was the difference in the game. You knew (Tuesday) night had a chance to be a special basketball game and it sure showed up to be one of those,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “It is just unfortunate in a couple of our last possessions offensively we didn’t execute down the stretch in even what we were trying to do. Those show up in a high school basketball game in a close ball game in a game like that and that magnitude.”
Blair had 21 for South Central and Lamoreaux added 19.
Brayden Hood led everybody with 26, including eight three pointers, for Western. Dale Smith added 12. Aiden Markley, one the Roughriders leading scorers was held to only two points and that came in the first 1:30 of the game.
After taking the lead late, Seidel says they got some big defensive stops too. “We got a block, we came up with two loose balls and didn’t give them a chance to get off another three. It was a total team effort. I’m grateful to be part of it, it was a fun ballgame,” he said.
The Trojans were a different team in the second half. Even Legg made some plays too, including eight points in the third quarter. He gave the Trojans there first lead of the second half with a three from the left wing with 4:42 to play in the quarter. “I thought Evan Legg stepped up. I the first half he looked really hesitant and almost scared, this we a pretty nice atmosphere. I thought in the second half Legg really stepped,” said Seidel.
Western took a (49-46) lead on Hood’s three with 6:39 left in the game, but gave it back (50-49) when Blair poured in a three with 5:52 remaining.
Sheldon says the Riders (10-4,8-1) still have part of the lead. “Without a doubt, we still control our own destiny …. You know…. There is nothing we can do to change (Tuesday) night’s outcome. The only thing we can do is get ready for another tough one on Friday and we have to really learn from this,” he said.
Western plays Plymouth on Friday and Crestview on Saturday in conference games.
South Central’s weekend has Mapleton Friday and Plymouth Saturday.
Seidel says, obviously, it was a big win for them. “It was to protect home court. It was officiated like a tournament game. It was a physical game. That’s what we like, and I know they would rather play that way as well. Just allow the kids to decide it and man where they were making plays. We are fortunate to be on top,” he said.
These two teams meet again at Western on February 16.
Published 1/30/18
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Finally Time For South Central and Western Reserve
Firelands Conference leader Western Reserve travels to South Central to face the second place Trojans, a game back, in a huge game Tuesday night.
It is a game that was rescheduled twice due to weather related concerns.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says his kids are excited with the opportunity that confronts them. “The kids are ready to play games now at this time of the year. So, having a game instead of practicing on a Tuesday night probably makes the kids day actually. They are tired of the grind and tired of the practicing and ready to play some games,” he said.
Western Reserve (10-3,8-0) escaped with a (54-48) win over upset mined Mapleton on Friday. They have players like Aiden Markley, Brayden Hood, and Dale Smith, who can lite it up.
Seidel says they can let them to get on a run. “It is hard to find them having a complete off night because they have so many shooters. They have so many kids that can make shots and can make threes. Containing them and not allowing them to score and scoring in bunches is a big thing. Where they hit a three turn you over and then hit another three. I think the key to somewhat containing them is not allowing them to do it in bunches,” said Seidel.
Seidel added this is a tough team to defend and is similar in a many ways to a Mansfield Christian team that beat team (71-70) on Saturday night. “I think transition defense and rebounding is going to be key. We were not particularly good in the second half defensively against Mansfield Christian at all and Mansfield Christian is pretty similar to Western,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They are guard oriented and very skilled with the basketball in their hands. We gave up 48 in the second half against Mansfield Christian. We are going to have to shore things up and be ready to guard.”
Defense has been the cornerstone of Western’s consistent success year to year and Seidel believes they are getting and better this year. He says they will have something different up their sleeve. “They are continuing to get better. Obviously, they are going to continue to play extremely hard. They are going to play in the passing lanes. I expect something different from them than just their regular man to man defense. I expect them to do something with Simon (Blair,) or trying to take Simon away either in the full or half and have help. We, hopefully, will be ready for whatever they throw at us,” said Seidel.
South Central (9-5,7-1) probably needs a win more because they are at home. Seidel calls it pretty much a must win for them. “You don’t want to get into must win situations, but this is as close to one as you can get. Don’t want to drop back two games and with this one being at home we would like to protect home court as much as possible. It goes without saying it is an important game,” he said.
Published 1/30/18
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South Central Has to Get New London
Second place South Central only has one loss in the Firelands Conference so far and that came at home against New London last month.
They get a chance to make amends this Friday when they travel to New London to face the Wildcats.
South Central (8-4,6-1) have won its last four and five of its last six, but coach Brett Seidel says they still have a long way to go. “We still haven’t put four quarters together. We are showing improvement in areas, but we still have not played 32 minutes yet. That is the biggest thing. I don’t care what the scoreboard is, I just want to be playing well. That is what we are trying to get across to the kids no matter time, score, opponent, we need to try and play the game the right way,” he said.
New London (5-6,5-3) beat South Central (67-57) and coach Seidel says in order to win this time they have to play better defense. “Defensively, that the big thing, we let (Karson Howell) go for 26. We lost to him in transition, we lost him in the half court, and he got comfortable and made a bunch of shots. We also gave up 67 that night and that is just too many to give up and try and win a high school basketball game in this day and age. Defensively is what we have to shore up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Simon (Blair) struggled that night, actually had more turnovers than points. I don’t expect him to play like that every again to be honest. You compile those things together and the result was what it was.”
Games on the road against good teams and tough no matter what the league and the Firelands Conference is no different. Seidel wants defense and effort at New London. “I think we have to go in and play with confidence, that’s for sure. Sometimes offense doesn’t travel and we have to make sure our defense and our effort does. We can take our effort along with us and the defensive intensity and hopefully we can find ways to stay in the game and have a chance in the end,” he said.
South Central plays at Mansfield Christian (9-5) in a non-conference game on Saturday night. They beat Plymouth, also of the Firelands Conference (60-58) in overtime on Tuesday.
Seidel says they will have to execute. “You are going to earn everything you get against John’s defensive game. He is one of the best pressure man to man teachers that I have seen. We are going to have to earn everything we get. They have numerous guys that can score starting with his son (Kyle) and McPeak, who are four year lettermen. They can create havoc at both ends of the floor. The Delaney kid has come along. He’s making shots. “The Furnace” is a tough place to play,” said Seidel.
Published 1/26/18
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South Central Gets Back to Work
South Central trails Firelands Conference leader Western Reserve by game and they face two games in the conference this week.
They play at Norwalk St. Paul on Thursday and at Monroeville (1-10,0-5) on Saturday.
The Trojans have not played since a (77-51) over Crestview on January 5. Coach Brett Seidel says they have kind of been dealing with those issues all year. “Our schedule has been so screwed up lately that routine really hasn’t been a routine,” he said.
South Central is in the middle of a six game road trip. They only have four more home games the rest of the year. Their game at home with Western Reserve has been rescheduled for a third time to January 30.
St. Paul (4-4,3-2) beat Mapleton (46-40) on Tuesday night in a game that was a bit of a struggle for the Flyers. Seidel says there is no question they will be ready to play them on Thursday. “They are talented and very big and obviously very well coached. “Smitty” does a great job with that program and they are going to be well prepared and disciplined and they play very good defense,” he said.
The Flyers are one of the biggest teams, if not the biggest, on the South Central schedule this year. Seidel says they are going to have to do a lot of things to keep the ball out of the hands of those big guys. “They are huge. It is the biggest team that is going to walk out against us this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are definitely going to have to make sure we are helping on the interior, the backside, we are going to have to dig down, we are going to have to make sure we have pressure on the passer. It is going to have to take a super effort to keep the ball out of the paint.”
With Monroeville on Saturday, a team the Trojans handled (71-42) in December, Seidel says they are trying to teach the young team the value of being ready to play each time out. “I think with youth and inexperience they don’t understand the value of every game. They don’t understand how every game is important. It factors in in a conference race, in factors in in seedings. Just with that youth they don’t get how important each game is, so we are just trying to impress upon them that every game is the most important game that we will play and it is what we are trying to get across,” said Seidel.
Published 1/17/18
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South Central Wants to be a Contender
South Central trails Western Reserve by a game in the Firelands Conference standings and they host the Roughriders on Friday night outside of Greenwich.
A win moves them into a share of the lead with one game left for each in the first round of the double round robin.
The Trojans blew open a close game at halftime last Friday to blast Crestview (77-51) they had pretty much done the same thing to Plymouth in a (65-44) win the week before.
Coach Brett Seidel says they need to play like that in the first two quarters. “We have been pretty good in the second half of our last two games. We are just trying to open up the game with that kind of focus and intensity. The ball moving is our focus for four quarters on Friday night,” he said.
South Central (6-4,4-1) hosts Western Reserve (7-3,5-0) in a conference showdown on Friday night. The Roughriders edged Norwalk St. Paul (56-54) last Friday to remain unbeaten in the conference.
Seidel describes them as an explosive team on offense with a number of talented shooters. “They have a lot of skilled players, guys that can make shots, can make shots at anytime from any place on the floor. They can create for themselves or they can create for others,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, there is a lot of talent on the floor at one time. They all can get hot in a hurry, so they can score in bunches. They are very dangerous.”
Sophomore point guard Simon Blair is South Central’s leading scorer and Seidel says he expects Western Reserve to try and keep the ball out of his hands. He says they are improved on defense. “They are good and they continue to get better. I expect them to probably face guard and double Simon (Blair) in the full. Trying to take it our of his hands as much as possible. That is kind of what I expect from them,” he said.
It is expected that the Firelands Conference will be balanced, but no one has beaten Western yet. Seidel says this is their chance to prove the are part of the race for the conference title. “It is an opportunity for us. There is a lot of the season to play yet, but you don’t really want to go down two games in the league race. It is a big opportunity for us to hopefully put ourselves up there as a contender,” he said.
Published 1/10/18
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Trojans Have to Finish
South Central, in a share of second place in the Firelands Conference, plays at Crestview in a conference game on Friday night.
They have a chance to move into a share of first place if Norwalk St. Paul can beat leader Western Reserve.
Christmas break can kind of be a crossroads for teams, but coach Brett Seidel says they don’t know how they will come out of it because it is still in progress. “Christmas, the celebration has come and gone, but we are still on a break because of the weather. We are still kind of getting through the difference in routine. We are practicing right now in the middle of the school day. Kids are sleeping in and staying up late. We are still kind of in the middle of it. I guess we will continue to sort this out and hopefully figure it out (Friday) night,” said Seidel.
South Central (5-4,3-1) visits Crestview (1-6,1-3) in a conference game on Friday. The Cougars have not won a game in almost a month and lost to non OHSAA member Mansfield Temple Christian (70-60) on Tuesday night.
Seidel says they are not void of talent and are still trying to find their identity and he hopes that doesn’t come on Friday night. “I think they are similar to most of us in this league who are still trying to sort out the inexperience and the youth and trying to find depth and balance and consistency,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “With the youth and inexperience comes the inconsistencies. They are going through the same as they rest of us. They have some athletes, they have some experience in the post that can score it. They play very hard, they are very scrappy on defense. We are going to have to come ready to play.”
Crestview will likely bring some pressure and Seidel says they have to handle it and then attack the basket. “Valuing the basketball and making of extra pass and not being passive once we get out of the pressure. Once we get out of a trap or beat their pressure we have to make sure we are aggressive and we are trying to find the next open guy,” he said.
Published 1/05/18
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South Central Faces Norwalk and Plymouth
South Central goes out of league to host Norwalk of the “SBC” on Wednesday night and then they travel to Plymouth for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans (4-3,2-1) beat Old Fort (56-51) in a non-conference game on Saturday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were able to handle the Old Fort press for the most part and get the win. “They are a different type of team to play against. They run a scrambling press styled defense for an entire game and are very relentless with their effort and scrapping. We got in some foul trouble and battled through some adversity. Have a couple of guards on the bench. I was just happy we were able to come out on top,” he said.
Norwalk (2-5) plays at South Central Wednesday night. The Truckers lost to Sandusky Perkins (49-44) in Lake Division play last week and lost to Lexington (56-48) on Saturday in a non-league game.
Seidel says the Truckers are very strong defense and they have a very, very good guard. “They are very, very good defensively. That is what I see on film. They have really good ball pressure. They are pressuring the passing lanes. They help early. They are very disciplined and very good defensively against every opponent they have played against. Their defense has given them a shot to win it at the end. Haraway is obviously tremendous athlete with division two offers and skills. We know we are in for a very tall challenge,” said Seidel,
Seidel says there isn’t any big secret. He says they have to make shots. “This sounds really silly, but you have to make shots. I think you have to make some perimeter jump shots. They have 6’5” inside and they are athletic, disciplined and physical defensively. We are just going to have to make that extra pass and when that pass comes we catch with our feet ready and be able to knock down some jump shots,” he said.
When it comes to Plymouth (3-2,1-1,) Seidel says they have to find a way to control Plymouth’s Jacob Adams, which nobody really has been able to do so far. “We all have inexperience and we all have some youth to us and with that inexperience and youth you are going to have some inconsistencies and ups and downs and feel that is the same way with Plymouth as it is for us. We have stretches where we play really well and we have stretches were we don’t play really well. The Adams kid is a load,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “He scores in multiple ways. He is very athletic. He has worked really hard on his game and you can tell. He is seeing junk defenses and he is still putting up numbers. Everybody is aware of him and trying to stop him, but he is still able to find ways to score.”
Published 12/27/17
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Lucas Outlasts South Central
After falling behind for the first time in the game with just over a minute and a half to play, the Lucas Cubs scored the next eight points and they downed the South Central Trojans (57-53) in a non-conference boys’ basketball game on Tuesday night.
Lucas (4-0) took a (22-6) lead after the first quarter, but the Trojans closed to (28-20) at the half and (40-36) after three quarters.
‘ South Central (3-3) took its first lead of the game (50-49) with 1:35 to play on a basket in the paint by Alex Holland, but the Cubs would respond. Freshman Ethan Sauder it an open three to give the Cubs the lead back (52-50) and then Jeb Grover cashed in on a layup (54-50) and sophomore Logan Niswander made a free throw and a hoop off a steal to seal it (57-50) with :07 left.
“We have been pretty resilient this year. We show our peak and play pretty well, like in that first quarter, and then we have been bad stretches. I have been happy with our resiliency and our attitude and we stick with it. I guess than comes from experience I have some experienced guards. So, we will take that. They are making it rough on me. I wish we could just keep playing, so we don’t have to worry about that stuff,” said Lucas coach Taylor Iceman.
The Trojans had two critical turnovers once they got the lead. South Central coach Brett Seidel took the blame for those and their slow start. “I sat to start the game because I think that is what my parents want to see. I think they want to me to set down and be calm.,. not yell and scream and get into the game, not be passionate. So, I sat and we went down 22-6,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I don’t know why for whatever reason they need me to scream and yell at them, so that’s what I do. I take the loss because of lack of communication at the end of the game. I thought we dug ourselves, but we battled back and the kids some resiliency. They hit a couple of big threes from their young kids down the stretch that gave them the game.”
Lucas held South Central’s leading scorer in sophomore guard Simon Blair to 12 points and Iceman says it was part of the game plan to limit his touches. “The Blair kid is extremely tough. He is good with the ball. We were just trying to deny him the ball and not let him get it. We weren’t real successful with that and it led to some transition baskets for them. They spread you out. We played good team defense. We had good help. You have to try and make their other guys beat you,” he said.
Ben Lamoreaux led South Central with 14 points, all in the second half.
Lucas sophomore Logan Niswander led everybody with 22 points on the night. Jeb Grover had 12 and Brian Sauder 11 for the Cubs.
Iceman says Niswander has good skill. “Logan is as talented an offensive player as we have got. He is only a sophomore, so I think once he figures things out with that lineup we put out there he is going to have a nice match-up a lot of nights. I tell him to keep shooting even when he is cold. I think that is our fourth different leading scorer here in four games. So, it has worked out,” he said.
Published 12/19/17
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Trojans Have to Take it to the Game
South Central is a team with some pretty good potential and at times has looked good, but not consistently and that has cost them in their two losses, most notably last Friday night.
New London came to town and beat the Trojans (67-57) in a Firelands Conference game. Coach Brett Seidel says the Wildcats were just better than them. “I have to give all of credit to Tom Howell and his kids and New London. They came in well prepared and they did a good job defending us making us uncomfortable and we were unable to guard them. His son played really well. He came out hot and got comfortable and hit a layup and back to back threes to open the game and that made everybody else more comfortable and it made for a long night for the Trojans,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Again, credit them, they played well and we did not. We bounced back against Mapleton and played really well for three quarters. Now, (Tuesday) we have another tough matchup with undefeated Lucas.”
They beat Mapleton (65-36) in Firelands play on Saturday night.
Defense has been an issue for the Trojans. Seidel says they have been good in practice, but as much in games. “The big thing and this is what coach Durham and I have been harping on, is carry over. We drill and drill and drill and drill and talk about what is proper and what we need to be doing to make us good defensively and we do it… during practice. Carrying it over to the game and applying it to live situations, not a drill is the biggest issue right now. So, just the carryover from practice to games of what we are looking to be more consistent with,” he said.
South Central (3-2) plays at Lucas (3-0) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. Lucas beat Crestline (70-61) in a Mid-Buckeye Conference game last Friday. Guards Jeb Grover and Brian Sauder both had 23 points.
Seidel says it those guards they are going to have to contain on Tuesday night if they are going to win. “Their experience at the guard position. They have three very experienced, very strong, very efficient guards. They shoot it well and they defend, they are athletic, they are physical. It is a tall order to go into their place and play well enough to come out with a win. It is tough. Hopefully, it being a Tuesday game it has a little bit of a tournament feel playing an undefeated team. So, hopefully we rise to the occasion mentally,” said Seidel.
Published 12/19/17
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Big Weekend for South Central
South Central has shown some good things so far this season, but this weekend is going to be a test for the Trojans in a number of ways.
They play rival New London on Friday and a young and inexperienced Mapleton team on Saturday, both at home.
Coach Brett Seidel says these two games are going to say a lot. “I think this is where we find out who we are. New London has played three quality opponents in Edison, Wellington and Western. We have them on Friday night and then another conference game on Saturday for a double conference weekend. We kind out who is for real and who is not,” said Seidel.
South Central (2-1,1-0) hosts New London (0-3,0-1) on Friday night. The Wildcats lost a tough one (54-51) to Western Reserve last Friday in their league opener.
Seidel says this is a team that is pretty good and improving. “I have seen them on film. Edison is a load, who beat Sandusky Perkins. Obviously, the second half against Western was really good for them as well. Tom (Howell) does a great job so they are going to continue to get better. The inexperience that they have at their positions they are going to get better as the year goes on and Tom is going to have them ready to play,” he said.
Karson Howell is the Wildcats best player right now. Seidel says they have to know where he is at all times. “I think they are aware of that as well. He torched us last year home. Hit big shot after big shot down the stretch. He has gotten bigger, he has gotten stronger. He can score in multiple ways and he gets to the rim now, so he presents a problem. He never stops moving. He wants the ball and everything is kind of geared for him. We are going to have to be locked in and ready to go and guard him as a team,” said Seidel.
Mapleton (0-3,0-1) lost to Crestview (68-41) in their first Firelands Conference game of the season last Friday.
Seidel says this is a game when they are going to have to be focused. “You kind of view it as a trap game,” he told Swankonsports,com on Thursday, “We have a team on paper that we should be better than. They only have two returners with varsity experience at all. One of their best guards is having shoulder surgery in Pharmer. The kids they do have they are going to come out and play and play hard. They don’t care what the score is. That is a trap game for us with having a rival game on Friday night against New London and them having to come back on Saturday against Mapleton. The focus mentally has to be there throughout.”
Published 12/15/17
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Young Kids Play Well for South Central
South Central split their opening two non-conference games and now they open the Firelands Conference portion of their schedule at home Friday night against the Monroeville Eagles.
The Trojans (1-1) lost to Mansfield St. Peter’s (67-63) last Friday and then beat Buckeye Central (63-39) in Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel thought they played well both nights, especially their younger kids who were seeing their first significant varsity action. “Overall I liked our fight. I thought we tried to stay in the fight as much as possible. We had some bright spots. We had some youth that had very little if any varsity experience that showed signs that they are going to be able to help us not just now, but even more down the road as we mature and grow into this. Two quality coaches, two quality opponents. Obviously, never happy to lose, but I thought my kids played well even on Friday night,” said Seidel.
Sophomore guard Simon Blair had 31 points in a losing effort to St. Peter’s, the two time defending district champion, as he begins his second year as a varsity regular. Seidel says when the Spartans would spurt they wouldn’t give in and that was key. “Not just because it was St. Peter’s. They are well coached and who they have and how athletic they are, but just because it was the first game. You just never know what’s going to happen that first game, who is going to show up and how things are going to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have played these guys first game for I don’t know how many years we have been doing it. It just seems like if we are getting beat we go away and I didn’t feel like we did that this time. They would push it out to 10 and we would close the gap, so I was pleased with that.”
Monroeville has another new head coach in Al Mielarek. They lost their opener (62-43) to Sandusky St. Mary’s last Saturday.
Seidel expects they are going to have to execute against the zone defense in order to score. He says they have been working on it. “We are going to see a lot of zone. We are going to have to get the ball moving. We are working on zone offense right now quite a bit. Buckeye played us zone on Saturday night and Monroeville was there to see it. I have film on them already and that’s what they played the entire time, so we are going to see zone, so we have to get the ball moving. We can’t settle for the first jump shot off the first pass,” said Seidel.
There may be a lot of teams in the mix for the conference title this season and Seidel says this first one is going to be important in the race. “That is how it is in league play. Your goal each year is to win the league, that is the start of it. You have to win the first one in order to stay on top and be on top. That is our focus right now. It is one game at a time. It is a single weekend. We only have one game. So, we are hoping we can start things out right,” he said.
Published 12/05/17
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South Central Starts with Two Big Ones
South Central is a young team with some talent and they will be tested twice this weekend as they play host to Mansfield St. Peter’s and Buckeye Central in non-conference games.
Coach Brett Seidel says there are always going to be some butterflies with the anticipation of the season starting. “You never know the first weekend is always unknown. You can have your five scrimmages, but I think you still don’t know what’s going to happen when those lights come on and those stands are filled who is going to accel and who is not, who is a practice player and who is a gamer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, that is kind of the disadvantage of coaching. When I played I knew what I was going to get and give, but as a coach the unexpected is always there.”
The Trojans have some talent, no question, but Seidel says they haven’t proven anything yet. “Potential just means we aren’t there yet. With the youth that we do have there is a little bit of experience and there is a little bit of skill as well. We are hoping we can put it all together and hopefully compete for a couple of “W’s” on Friday and Saturday,” he said.
It is going to be a huge test on Friday night, as two time defending district champion Mansfield St. Peter’s comes knocking. They have to potential all-state caliber players in Jared Jakubick and Elijah Cobb. They beat the Trojans in district semi-finals (79-41) last year. Seidel says this is a team that is going to be confident. “I know who they have. Who they are very skilled and very athletic and they are winners. They have been there they have been through it all. Back to back regional finals. So, this is nothing new to them and I know what they are going to bring. We know we are in for a tall order on Friday night. Hopefully, we match their intensity and make a few shots along the way,” said Seidel.
Buckeye Central has become a solid non-conference rival for the Trojans and Seidel predicts Saturday night is going to be no different. “It has been that way the last few years. We both have games on Friday nights and on Saturday it is kind of a half court grind it out down to the last possession game. We won by one over there last year and they won at the buzzer over here the year before. It has kind of turned into that kind of tournament style play in game two of the year each year,” said Seidel.
Published 11/29/17
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South Central Gets Better
South Central, a division four school from the Firelands Conference, scrimmaged at Mansfield Senior, one of the biggest schools in the area, on Tuesday and they benefitted from the experience.
The Tygers took all but the last quarter, however, South Central coach Brett Seidel feels they improved as the scrimmage went on and that was good to see. “I am just grateful we had the opportunity to come and play someone like Senior. Coach Sykes was willing at the district 6 meeting to allow us to come over here and play. They are very, very athletic, very long and they play hard. They play so hard. They are the team that has given the most effort that we have seen all season. It just made us better. I think as it wore on we were starting to compete a little bit better and get used to the speed and the physicality of it. Like I said I am just thankful we were able to come over here and get better,” said Seidel.
South Central opens the season next weekend against defending division four district champion Mansfield St. Peter’s on December 1 and Buckeye Central on December 2 in non-conference games.
Seidel says the Trojans have gotten better this preseason as they migrate towards that opening weekend. “We have had a gradual progression and that is what we have got to ask for. We have continued to get better through each scrimmage. We started in Willard, then we went to Sandusky Perkins and basically practiced with them and got a whole lot better that night and then we had a real good scrimmage with Mohawk and shot it really, really well at home,” he said.
It is unlikely that the Trojans are going to see another team as athletic as Mansfield Senior, at least during regular season play. Seidel firmly believes the experience on Tuesday night will help them down the road. “(Tuesday) night we knew we were going to be in for a challenge. We knew they were going to be up tempo, we knew they were going to be up in us and that was good for us, they were denying all over the floor and that was good for us. By about the third quarter we finally started to figure out we couldn’t run our offense from half court,” he told Swankonsports.com after the scrimmage, “We had to make sure we back cut and loosen things up and those are growing pains. There are times when we have three sophomores and a freshman on the floor. The freshmen looked really, really raw, but by the end he was getting some stick backs and crashing the glass a lot harder then he had previously. I’m encouraged.”
Published 11/22/17
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South Central Excited to Play New London
South Central meets New London in Firelands Conference action here on week 10 of the high school football season and they excited to get a chance to play together for a final time.
The Trojans (3-6,1-5) lost to second place Crestview (49-14) last week.
Coach Corey Fichiesen says in his opinion the game was more competitive than that score might indicate. “They are a very good football team and have a lot of upperclassmen, who we have been playing against for the last three or four years. So, a lot of familiar faces so we knew it is going to be a challenge. I am proud of the way we played really because, obviously the scoreboard says a little bit different, but I felt like we were right there, we were in the game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “A few plays go our way and a few don’t go there way it is a lot different, but that is why you play the game. Again, I am just proud of my guys. A lot of my younger guys have kind of had to step into knew roles and they have taken it on. So, we are going to move onto this week and it’s a big one.”
New London (1-8,0-6) has not scored in the last three weeks, including a (56-0) loss to Mapleton last week.
However, Fichiesen says the Wildcats might be more healthy this week. “We have head there is the possibility of some kids coming back from injury for them, which would help them out big time. Like I tell me kids at this point in the year it doesn’t matter with records. You get to week 10 this is rivalry week. So, they are going to throw everything they have at us and we are going to throw everything we have at them because this is the last game for both teams. Obviously both teams are going to want to send their seniors out the right way. We are focused and locked in and hopefully we play that way on Friday night,” said Fickiesen.
No matter who plays for New London, Fichiesen says he knows his kids are going to play very hard. “That is kind of the way my kids have approached this week. I have a great group of seniors, but the biggest thing is my underclassmen. They want to send these seniors out on the right note. We have had a lot of energy this week. We are excited for another opportunity to play together. We are going to leave it all out on the field on Friday night,” he said.
Published 10/26/17
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South Central Has to Eliminate
Mistakes
They can’t shoot themselves in the foot like they did last week.
St. Paul buried them (56-0) last week and coach Corey Fickiesen says they made some good plays, but they made a lot of bad plays too. “They came out and showed a little bit of a different defense than we had seen the last couple of weeks, but offensively we moved the ball here and there. We were able to throw the ball, we weren’t able to run the ball at all. I felt like we moved the ball through the air decently. We just turned the ball over way too many times,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Special teams they returned the opening kickoff and then we fumbled the next possession. With a very, very good team like that and you give them opportunities like we did and you aren’t going to be very successful. We have to get some things cleaned up heading into this week.”
Crestview (5-3,4-1) has won five of its last six games. Their only loss during that span came three weeks ago to St. Paul (38-7) and they beat New London (54-0) last week.
Fickiesen says this is another team you can’t afford to make mistakes against or it is going to be a loss. “Realistically any game in the Firelands Conference you have to play well if you want to win. It is a very good conference and Crestview is a very good football team. We have to get some things cleaned up in all three phases of the game so we can give ourselves a chance to win towards the end of the game,” he said.
Crestview features some misdirection, or a lot of it, in their offense and Fickiesen says you much keep your eyes where they are supposed to be in order to contain the Cougars. “They have a ton of guys that do a lot of different things and that is a benefit when you have 80 plus players. They have a lot of different guys that do a lot of different things, so we have to be responsible. We have to watch our keys. We have to know where each guy is and play sound, fundamental football,” he said.
Published 10/17/17
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South Central Challenges Conference Leaders
South Central produced a tremendous win last Friday night and that has injected some confidence back into the team.
However, they face a tough one on Saturday night when they travel to Norwalk to meet unbeaten St. Paul.
Last week, the Trojans (3-4,1-3) rallied to beat Western Reserve (27-24) in a conference games, stopping the Rough Riders at the goal line to get the win.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says the win was electrifying. “It was quite the game. It was homecoming for us, so it was a big night and big week leading up to it. We kind of started out slow. They got on the board early. We had some special teams breakdowns here and there. I think their biggest lead was 17-7, but then we started to get things rolling in the second half with our offense and our defense was stepping up making big plays. So, we kind of put it all together there and we pulled it our right at the end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “We got a goal line stand at the one-yard line as time expired. It was great for our kids to experience that and such a big win against a good team, but more a good program overall at Western. Coach Stoll does a great job over there year in and year out, so for us to be able to beat them was big for us.”
Fickiesen says it was a good lesson for the kids that you have to play through adversity many times if you are going to win games. “We had some adversity there throughout the game with special teams breakdowns. We punted it off the back of one of our own players and it bounced into the end zone and they got a touchdown. Just some little things like that that were big errors for us and we were able to battle back and kept fighting. With the young men we are continuing to teach and you have to be able to battle through adversity, not just in football, but in life. They were able to do that, so we are pretty proud of them,” he said.
St. Paul (7-0,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, moved into first place by themselves in the Firelands with a (31-20) win at Mapleton. It was the first time this season the Flyers have allowed more than one score in a game.
Fickiesen says the Flyers are really good, but that is the case every year. They have to try and play like this is any other game. “It is St. Paul and they are five time in a row league champion. It is a big challenge and every year you play them it’s a big challenge, but we just have stay in the right mindset about it. We have to have that mindset of we are going to go play another football game and we are going to play as hard as we possibly can with is much effort for each other and we will see where we end up. That is how we are going to attack this week. It doesn’t matter who we are playing we have to have the same effort each week. We have to give everything we have for each other and we will see how it ends up,” said Fickiesen.
Published 10/09/17
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Defense Must improve for South Central
South Central has given up over 100 points the last two weeks and they have to a better job of limiting the other guys if they are going to get back on the winning track.
They play at Mapleton on Friday night in Firelands Conference action.
Monroeville piled up more than 500 yards rushing last week in hammering the Trojans (45-7) in a conference game.
South Central coach Corey Fickiesen says they got handled at the point of attack by the Eagles. “They are a lot bigger than us up front and it definitely showed. They pushed us around. We didn’t attack quite like we talked about all week and that’s credit to them they are a good football team with some really good kids up front and good running backs and obviously some good coaches over there. We just didn’t do what we needed to get done and now we have moved on and now we are getting ready for Mapleton,” he said.
South Central (2-3,0-2) plays at Mapleton (2-3,0-2) on Friday night in a league game. Mapleton lost to Crestview (41-16) in a conference game.
Until last week, the Mounties had scored at least 21 points in every game and more than 40 three times.
Fickiesen says they have good balance on offense. “They have they have the Pharmer kid back, who is obviously pretty good. It is his third year starting. Their offense is built around him. He runs the football well. They give you a lot of problems. They can run the football, they can throw it. They line up in some different formations,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They make you guard people. They try to take what you are giving them. So, there are a lot of different things we have been tossing around. Hopefully we will be ready Friday night.”
Defense, and who can execute better, likely will determine the winner on Friday night, according to Fickiesen. “That is usually the case if you are able to play well on defense. The last couple of games our defense has struggled a little bit here and there, but our offense hasn’t helped them out with field position and what not. Defense, that is what we are going to be focused on this week. Making sure that we know what they like to do tendency wise and where they like to do it. Keeping an eye on the Pharmer kid, keeping an eye on #3, and just knowing where they are at at all times,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/26/17
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South Central Must Stop Run
South Central is dealing with some injuries in the skilled positions and they have to find a way to stop the run as they host Monroeville on Friday night in Firelands Conference action.
They allowed Seth Bailey to score six touchdowns as Plymouth used the double wing, double tight offense to roll over the Trojans (56-29) in a conference game last week.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they just weren’t very good at stopping the run at all. “It is something that you don’t get to see very often and in practice it is so hard to simulate it because it is something you kids never see. Defensively so many of your rules go out the window. We just didn’t come to play like we needed to and they were able to run the football. So, that is something we have been working on getting fixed this week,” he said.
South Central (2-2,0-1) likely will be without the services of running back/linebacker Marcus McCormick again this week. Fickiesen says they have some injuries, but that means other kids have to step up. “We do have some guys out, but at a small school during football season everyone has some guys hurt. You just have to have other kids step up and you have to keep playing. You can’t sit back and whine and complain about it or you are going to continue to get beat. Other guys just have to step up and work a little bit harder and fill some new roles. So that is what we are doing this week,” said Fickiesen.
Monroeville ran for more than 500 yards, Tche Leroux accounting for 397 on his own, as the Eagles (3-1,1-0) belted Mapleton (66-41) in a conference game. They established a new school record for points in a game in the win.
Fickiesen says they know Monroeville is going to try and run the ball on them and they have to find a way to get off blocks. “Last week we weren’t really able to stop the run really well and now we come back and play Monroeville and the one kid had almost 400 yards by himself against Mapleton. Again, we have to get those things fixed and get them fixed now so that we are ready for Monroeville. They are a great team with some big kids up front, a big, bruising, running back that also has some speed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have some other kids that are quick. Obviously, their coaches have done a great job over the last couple of years of turning it back around over there and getting some things going. We are just getting ourselves focused and ready. The main emphasis is stopping the run.”
Published 9/20/17
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South Central Getting Ready For Plymouth
South Central, a winner of two in a row, opens up Firelands Conference play on Friday night at Plymouth against the rival Big Red.
The Trojans (2-1) gave up a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but dominated the first half in route to (44-9) win over Crestline last week. That was after a (42-0) win over Danbury Lakeside on week two.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they have been able to get their offense in high gear. “The last two weeks our offense has kind of stepped up and played a lot better. We kind of challenged ourselves after week one that we had to get our offense rolling if we wanted to get this whole thing rolling and we have been able to do that. We have a big task Friday night to keep it going,” said Fickiesen.
After two good performances back to back, Fickiesen says his kids are growing in confidence. “When you start having success kids start believing and start buying in and practice starts going smoother and they are playing harder and that kind of leads to more momentum and we are trying to continue that as long as possible,” he said.
Plymouth (1-2) lost to Black River (38-3) last week.
The Big Red is now running the double wing, double tight offense that concentrates on running the football. Fickiesen says they are hard to prepare for because what they do is unique. “We have seen some teams that run the wing-T, the triple option, and those different things that you prepare for, but this is completely different than anything that you prepare or play against. We have really been doing a lot of film with our kids just so they get a feel of what it is going to be like with the old rugby scrum in there. You just have to try and find the guy with the football and get him down,” said Fickiesen.
Fickiesen says they have done some extra film work in order to make sure they are prepared for what they are going to see from the Big Red. “The nice thing is a couple of years ago we scrimmaged Lucas. My first two years here (as an assistant) we scrimmaged Lucas and obviously they are the ones in the area that have ran it and ran it successfully, so we kind of went back and we saw a little bit of that and now we are seeing what Plymouth does,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “You can’t fall asleep because those backs are going to hide in there and they are going to break out and bust it. They are going to run it 55 times in a row and then the one time they pass it they are hoping for a big one. So, everyone has to be locked in all of the time and focused and our kids have been doing that this week and hopefully we can do that the next couple of days.”
Published 9/14/17
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Crestline the Focus for South Central
South Central played some excellent football last week and they need to continue that as they play at Crestline in a non-conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans (1-1) throttled Danbury-Lakeside (42-0) last Friday.
Coach Corey Fickiesen says they played aggressively on both sides of the football. “We played pretty well against a pretty good team. Watching film on Danbury I was a little scared. They were coming off a big year last year and they were coming off a big win the week before, but I thought our kids came out with the right mindset. We preached all week just attack and go at them early and that’s what we did. We played well both sides of the ball,” he said.
Crestline lost to Monroeville, also of the Firelands Conference, (47-18) in their first game. They beat Grove City Christian (7-0) last Friday.
Fichiesen says the Bulldogs are going to present a challenge to them, no question. “They have some very athletic kids. Their running back is a very good player. They have a couple of receivers. The (Devon) Triplet kid can really hurt you are any time in the game. So, we have been very conscious all week in making sure we know where guys are at, what they like to do, tendencies. Week two they looked pretty good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They played good defense. It is definitely going to be a battle. They came here last year and we got off early on them and they came back and probably should have beat us to be honest, but we pulled it out. We are expecting to come out and have a battle (Friday) night.”
Firelands Conference play starts next week as the Trojans travel to Plymouth, but Fickiesen says they can not be thinking ahead or they are going to get caught in a trap this week. “Our focus is going to be on the task at hand this week and that is what we have been preaching. You can’t look ahead or you are going to get beat if you do that, especially a team like Crestline can sneak up on you. We have to go to their place, so our focus has been Crestline. I don’t care about the past. I don’t care about what we have in the future. We have to make sure we take care of this week. Once we do that we will move on to the next one,” said Fickiesen.
Published 9/08/17
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Trojans Need Better Execution
South Central was in the game in the fourth quarter with a very good Seneca East team last week, but lost (35-14) in the opener.
They host Danbury-Lakeside in another non-conference game on Friday night.
First year coach Corey Fickiesen says they were able to make some plays last week, but when they got down close they weren’t able to stick it in. “Seneca East is a very good football team. I think a lot of people know that and understand that. They have a lot of very good players and very good coaches. We hung around there it was 14-6 in the fourth quarter. We were right there, but we just didn’t make enough plays, especially on offense. Our defense played pretty well in the second and third quarter, but offensively we just couldn’t get things rolling to get a score when we needed it to tie it up and then they ended up scoring a couple late. We have been working on some of those things in being more consistent on the offensive end, getting the ball moving a little bit more and when we get close being able to punch it in,” said Fickiesen.
When you get in that red zone you have to execute even better and Fickiesen says Seneca East made them play faster and they were not able to do it. “The field is a little bit smaller and Seneca East has good athletes. They kind of challenged us, they blitzed everyone. They kind of said we are going to let you throw it and see if you can beat us that way. We just didn’t make enough plays offensively to kind of keep them in check. That is why they were kind of able to disrupt us a little bit,” he said.
Danbury beat Vanlue (39-19) in their opener last week and the Lakers were in the division seven playoffs last year. Fickiesen says they have some guys that can make plays. “Danbury is a very good team that I think a lot of people might think a lot of people might underestimate, but they are coming off a 7-3 season where they made the playoffs for the first time in history and they have got a lot of those kids back. They have a couple of kids on film that just kind of jump out. The Tibbles kid, number 12, is a very, very good players. Every time I am watching film I am saying wow this kid is good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have a couple of other kids that are pretty good players, so we are definitely going to have to execute better than we did last week offensively and defensively. They are a little bit of a different style with the wing-T than we have been practicing against. We put some new things in offensively and defensively to kind of get ready for this week, but we are just trying to hone in and be more consistent with all of the things we do.”
Published 8/30/17
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Trojans Must Stop Run
South Central entertains Seneca East on opening night in Greenwich in non-conference play Friday night and they are going to need to be ready to stop a variety of weapons.
The Tigers beat them (54-20) last season on the way to a playoff appearance.
Corey Fickiesein is in his first year as the Trojans head coach after a couple years as an assistant. He says his team is progressing. “We are happy with were we are at right now. We still have some work to put in before Friday gets here. We have to get a couple of guys healthy, but we are feeling pretty good. I think we will be ready to go by Friday,” he said.
The first game is always different and there is some nervous energy, but Fickiesen believes their experience will help to calm them down. “Being at home is going to help us a little bit I think. Also have about 10 starters that have done this before will also help. Every year that first game there are some butterflies. There are some jitters that you have to get our early, but hopefully we can get those out early and kind of move on and settle down and play our game,” he said.
Seneca East is coming off a strong season (8-3) and has a good freshmen class coming in. Fickiesen says they have some athletic kids and some big linemen too. “They are a good team. They have very, very good coaches over there and very, very good players. We have been able to watch some of their film. They have some guys that jump off the film at you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They have a couple of guys that can make plays at any time. They have some big guys up front. They are a good football team and when they come over here we are going to have to play pretty well. That’s what we keep telling our kids that it is a tough match-up, but we just have to stick to our game plan. Like I have been saying the goal is always 1-0.”
There is no question the Tigers can throw it too, but Fickiesen feels Seneca East is going to challenge them to stop them from running the ball. “Last year was a little different because their quarterback ended up getting hurt right before they played us and they have a whole new game plan that we didn’t see. You never know because things can happen this week, but they have some athletes at quarterback and running back, so we are expecting them to pound it on the ground. We are also not putting all of our chips in one basket because we understand that they can do both. We are just preparing the best that we can and giving our kids a chance to play as fast as possible,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/22/17
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Progress at South Central
Learning to be winners and having the right attitude can be the toughest thing in athletics.
It’s going to take hard work and dedication for the South Central Trojans to become a winning football program and they are starting to show signs.
Coach Corey Finkiesen says they are taking steps in the right direction. “We are definitely getting a little bit better. That is kind if what we have been preaching week by week. We just have to continually get better. We are not where we need to be obviously. Where we started to where we are now we are happy with the progress. We just have to keep pushing,” he said.
They have made some plays, but Fickiesen says they are still making silly mistakes that are holding them back from being more successful. “Just execution overall. We still have the mishaps with the bad snaps and the dropped balls and the turnovers and the missed tackles. Just the little things that are very fixable and that is a good thing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “You have to do those little things to beat a team like Seneca East, who is always pretty good. So, that is what we are trying to get cleaned up. The enthusiasm around the whole program is getting better. It is still not quite where we want it to be yet, but it has gotten a lot better.”
Fickiesen says they are working on the attitude of the kids everyday and that going to lead them to success on the field. He says they need to work on those little things. “It is always easier to be excited and you are winning. What we have seen the kids are kind of buying in an understanding. This could turn out kind of the way we want it to, so they are buying in a little bit. It is not all of way there yet. I think that is because of those little unfixed errors we still have, so if we can get those fixed that moral and that excitement will continue to grow,” said Fickiesen.
Published 8/15/17
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South Central Trying to Build
South Central is trying to find the same kind of success in football that they have had in other sports over the years and the numbers are starting to head in the right direction.
Corey Finkiesen was named the Trojans head football coach this summer after a couple years as an assistant. He is also the JV basketball coach at South Central, where the Trojans have enjoyed solid success the last couple of years. He hopes the football team can follow suit.
He likes the numbers and the enthusiasm he has seen so far. “It is going well. We have roughly 43 out, which for us is pretty good. We are up from my first year here when we were at 18, so we are working our way up there. It seems like the kids are pretty excited about getting back out here, which is the biggest thing. Being a long summer they worked their butts off, but to be out here on the field is what they really wanted. We are finally out here and we have a lot kids working hard. I’m excited and they are excited,” said Finkiesen.
With more kids there is more competition to get on the field and Finkiesen says that is always good. “That’s why most of the time your better teams are able to have more guys because that creates competition. People are fighting for spots rather than just getting it handed to them and that is what we needed. We needed guys to come out here and battle for positions and make each other better. It is going to help us out in the long run,” he said.
Seneca East provides the first challenge for the Trojans on August 25, followed by Danbury Lakeside and Crestline in non-conference play. They take on Plymouth in their first conference game on Week 4.
The new coach wants his kids to fly around and be fast on the field and come with good effort on every play. “We are always emphasizing just attitude. We are always emphasizing hustle. Everything you do rather if you know what you are doing or not doing it 110 percent. Kind of just changing the mindset of a lot these kids, especially the summer,” he told Swankonsports.com during a break in practice on Wednesday, “Kids are kind of lounging around and what not. You have to get up and do what is needed of you and as fast as you can go. We have a lot of young guys out here that are trying to catch up with a lot faster pace, but he we also have a lot older guys that have been here and know what’s going on, so they are able to help with that, so that’s nice.”
Published 8/03/17
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St. Peter’s Routs South Central
South Central’s Ben Lamoreaux hit a three pointer in the first 15 seconds of the game, but Mansfield St. Peter’s scored on back to back possessions and had the lead before a minute was gone and they never looked back never trailing again.
The state ranked Spartans (23-2) went on to drill South Central (79-41) in a division four district semi-final on Tuesday night at Willard High School. They return Friday night to face Colonel Crawford (18-6) for the district title. The Eagles beat Norwalk St. Paul (57-49) in overtime.
Coach Joe Jakubick feels they had good focus. “You never know what’s going to happen in games, especially what you get into the tournament. After what happened in the second half against Monroeville I just mentioned two things that we have to have better focus and if not South Central, who is an extremely talented and dangerous team, you will be going home, it will be over. If you don’t come out ready to play this team is dangerous. They have offensive weapons. You saw what they did to Wynford. I think they shot almost 80 percent from the field in that game. They were 10-21 from the three point line and 22-27 inside the arc. Those are numbers that are scary. I don’t care who you are playing and Wynford is a solid team, a team that finished above .500 and a quality team. We knew we had to be at our best (Tuesday) night and fortunately we came out on top,” said Jakubick.
The score grew to (27-11) after the first quarter and (48-16) at the half.
South Central coach Bret Seidel says they really had no answer when it came to defending the Spartans. “The first quarter hurt us. We came out and hit the three out of our secondary break and it felt good. It’s a good feeling and then they hit like six in a row, pull ups, to the rim, they did whatever they wanted through the first quarter. We had no answer for driving lanes, we had no answer for their pull ups. They made shot after shot in the first quarter. To play from behind against a team like that with that talent and that caliper is tough. I really appreciate my kids. I am proud of them because they played with class to them end. I am proud of that,” said Seidel.
St. Peter’s, #1 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, scored repeatedly in transition. Seidel says it is almost impossible to get ready from the things that St. Peter’s does. “They leak out and we practiced that with two guys back every time, bit it is hard to replicate them getting out in transition. We talked about it, reped it, but being able to replicate it is difficult to do,” he said.
Elijah Cobb led the Spartans with 22 points, Jared Jakubick added 21, Tyson Kent had 18 and Mason Campbell added 14.
Campbell did not play last week against either Danbury Lakeside or Monroeville due to injury, but he played most of the first three quarters on Tuesday. “Mason did really well. He had be chomping at the bit… he had been chomping at the bit,” said Jakubick.
With Campbell out last week, Jakubick says it allowed some other guys, particularly freshman Jonah Remy, to expand his game. “I will say it was really good for Jonah Remy. Jonah has really picked up some confidence and for him to play in a couple of tournament games and for us to win he had solid moments in those games. Now given the situation when he is called in for what ever minutes hopefully he will be productive,” he said.
South Central finished (15-10) and they were led Tuesday night by senior Jason Hale, who finished with 10.
Published 3/08/17
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Consistency the Key for Underdog South Central
South Central is the next in line to have a shot at upsetting Mansfield St. Peter’s.
They play the Spartans (22-2), #1 in our final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division and number two in the statewide media poll in division four, in the D-4 district semi finals at Willard High School on Tuesday night.
St. Peter’s has not lost to a division four school this year. South Central coach Bret Seidel says the secret is our, the Spartans are really good. “They definitely are not going to fly under the radar. We are not going to underestimate these guys. They are big, they are athletic. They can shoot it. They can score it multiple ways. They are really good in transition. They are really good with on ball defense. Obviously it goes without saying it is a tall order,” he said.
The Spartans are really good at getting down the floor and finishing shots. Seidel says they need to stop that transition, but that is really difficult to do. “I don’t know if there is any preparation you can do for it to be honest. As much film as I have seen. I remember from the last time we practiced, practiced and practiced before we played them and they still got out on us. Preparing for it and talking about it still doesn’t do it justice. They are just really good at it. Hopefully we can eliminate half of those opportunities that they normally get. They are obviously going to get out on us just trying to limit the number of times that that happens is important. I think they do a lot of that off turnovers as well,” said Seidel.
South Central (15-9) beat Wynford (84-59) last Friday in the tournament. Seidel feels they pretty well in the second half of that game, especially on offense. “I think our shot selection has really improved. I still never felt everything was clicking at the same time and we still won nine of our last 12. Coaches always have discontent. I just feel the second half against Wynford, other than that one minute stretch of turning the basketball over and they went on a 7-0 run I felt like we were pretty good defensively, but we were are good as we can be offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We shared the basketball and because of that our shot selection was really good and because of that our shot percentage was really good. We played really well outscoring them 45-25 in the second half and Jason Hale didn’t even score. I still feel there is some improvement we can work on.”
Seidel says they need to play Tuesday night with the same kind of intensity and execution that they did in the second half against Wynford. “For us to stay close we are going to have to play a consistent 32 minutes the way we played against Wynford in the second half just for us to be in the game and to have a chance going down the stretch. I feel like we are going to have to shoot the basketball well. We have had a couple of good practices. I feel like the kids are ready to go. We are going to give our best effort,” he said.
Published 3/07/17
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South Central Must Contain Wynford Break
South Central plays Wynford for a division four sectional title on Friday night at Lexington High School and a berth in next week’s district tournament.
The Trojans (14-9) beat Crestline (71-51) in a semi-final game on Wednesday night to advance in the tournament.
Coach Brett Seidel didn’t think they played particularly well, but he says they did make some adjustments at halftime that allowed them to pull away a little. “We got lost on some assignments and you can’t do that in tournament basketball. I feel like a couple of kids had the jitters. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well the entire game, especially in the first quarter and they are big. They are big and athletic and present some problems. The Clark kid got loose in the paint. He had 17 in the first half. We made a few adjustments and paid more attention to him in the second half. We made a few more shots and got out in transition a little bit and loosed up,” said Seidel.
Wynford (13-10) downed Mansfield Christian (47-33) in the other Wednesday night semi-final. They finished fourth this year in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Seidel says there is no question they are a better team in March than they were to start the season. “Well what I recognize from them is the last two years they have gotten progressively better as the season has gone on. That is a testament to him and his program. I thought they were playing their best basketball in February and March last year and I feel like they are playing their best basketball in February and March again this year..” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Jack Reed in a good player he is not just a shooter, he is not just a scorer, he is a player, he does everything on the floor at both ends. He is a leader and he plays hard. We are expecting a very tall task and big challenge for us on (Friday) night.”
Wynford runs the fast break very well and Seidel says they have to control that if they are going to win on Friday night. “We can’t allow them to get comfortable, especially in their transition. I feel like we have to find some kids in transition. We can’t allow any kind of second shots the entire night. I feel like we are going to have to make some shots,” he said.
Published 3/03/17
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Remaining Calm is Key For South Central
Fourth seeded South Central faces Crestline in a sectional semi-final on Wednesday night at Lexington High School.
The Trojans (13-9) are a mix of seniors that have been through the tournament wars and some younger kids who are getting their first taste of the one and done single elimination tournament on Wednesday night.
Coach Bret Seidel says he believes they are going to be ready to go against Crestline. “We have three four year lettermen that have been through this, so that experience I am hoping is going to help us. The younger kids are pretty fearless. Not much shakes them. I am not really all that concerned with them. We played the all-star game there last year and I took both of those kids with me and they got to play in that gym. Maybe that helps a little bit mentality wise,” said Seidel.
Crestline (5-17) ended the season with a (61-48) win over Galion last Friday in non-conference play. South Central beat them (68-47) on January 3.
Seidel says he knows what to expect. “I know that they are big and they are athletic and they played very inspired basketball against Galion and I expect the same. I think we will have to come out and take care of the basketball and we will have to eliminate second shots,” he said.
Being the higher seeded team with the better record and having beaten Crestline once is okay, but Seidel says it doesn’t mean anything on Wednesday night. He says both teams want to get off to a good start, but he says if they don’t they can’t lose their focus. “Both teams are going to want to get off to a good start. It is the first game, first quarter, first minutes of tournament play. You want to get off to a good start. It is key that if you don’t get off to that good start that you still stay the course. You don’t try and get out of character and start doing things that you don’t normally do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Last year I remember playing Plymouth and we went down like 12-4 right away and we didn’t hit the panic button and eventually we were up 16 or 17 at one time. It is just important to stay the course. Early on you might have jitters and nerves might get to you and cause you to miss some shots that you normally make. If you just stay the course and be true to what we do I feel over time we should be able to make some shots.”
Published 3/01/17
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South Central Tunes up With Western Reserve
South Central wraps up the regular season by hosting Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans are out of the conference race, but it is a must win for Western Reserve, who needs it to have a chance at sharing the conference title.
South Central won both of their games last weekend, downing Crestview (69-56) in a conference game on Friday and Sandusky St. Mary’s (80-72) in a non-conference game on Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel thinks they have made some progress in their offensive execution, but he is still concerned about what they are doing on defense. “Nobody wants to back into the postseason and I know Chris is over there saying the same thing with his kids. Obviously it does mean something. Neither team is playing for a conference championship, obviously they might get a share if Plymouth was to pull the upset at New London. You are playing for something because nobody wants to back into the postseason,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We want to pick up steam and continue to get better. I thought Saturday night we were petty good offensively. We still have some corrections to make defensively, but I also thought St. Mary’s played pretty well and made a lot of shots.”
Western Reserve (12-8,10-3) comes calling on Friday night to play the Trojans(13-8,8-5) and Seidel knows playing the Roughriders is a good way to get ready for the tournament next week. “I couldn’t ask for anything else. We want to win the game, but it is great preparation for the tournament having to execute against good defense and a team that compares with us and our personnel and what we do,” he said
In their first meeting on January 19, Western Reserve won (58-56) on a Colton Puder three pointer with less than 20 seconds to go. Seidel says they have to guard shooters, including Jaret Griffith, who is back in the lineup. “We had a two possession game the last time we played them. They rolled in a three with about 15 seconds to go, but we still had free throws we could have made to tie the game. With Griffith back that adds a whole new detention with how they are offensively. He is dynamic in the way he shoots the basketball. I know he didn’t get a whole lot of minutes and didn’t get a lot of shots up last weekend, but I am guessing as he progresses with practices under his belt in game situations he will be even better this Friday,” said Seidel.
Published 2/22/17
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South Central Still With Issues
South Central has three games to play over the final two weeks of the regular season to try and be ready for the postseason tournament.
They play at Crestview in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night and at home against Sandusky St. Mary’s in a non-league game on Saturday night.
The Trojans beat Plymouth (64-63) in a conference game last Friday and lost to Edison (61-45) in a non-league last Saturday.
Coach Brett Seidel says they are still working on a lot of the same issues they have been all year long. “We are still inconsistent. I feel like when we give our max effort and we share the basketball we can compete against anybody. I am still hanging on that. There are times, not all of us, but some of us, are still aren’t completely engaged at all times. I don’t really know the antidote to fix that. We are just going to continue to stay the course and work hard and do what we do and hopefully that all takes care of itself,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Plymouth is much improved and they played really well and made shots. We were fortunate to come out of there with a win. Edison is a very good basketball team and with their 2-3 zone I would compare it to the likes of Syracuse they do it really, really well. They played it for the entire game. We made shots early and later on in the game, I don’t know if it was fatigue or not, but we weren’t able to make shots. I thought we got some good open looks that normally we would make and we didn’t.”
Seidel says good teams are the ones that share the ball and get good looks at the basket. “I think the most fun basketball to watch is where the ball is moving. When it finally gets the point where it is a high percentage makeable shot with a very good shooter and the ball goes through the hoop it is fun to watch. I have been going to the state tournament for I don’t know how many years and those are the teams I have always enjoyed watching. The ones that have balanced scoring, share the basketball and make that extra pass and when the ball goes through the hoop it makes it look that much better,” he said.
South Central (11-8,7-5) plays at Crestview (8-10,5-7) on Friday night. South Central won the first meeting of the season (80-49) in January, but Seidel says they have to sort of forget that. “That is the thing about our league it is so balanced on any given night anybody can beat anybody. Monroeville plays us and New London tight for a half and us for three quarters and that is the bottom team in our league. On any given night anything can happen. Obviously my focus and understanding of that is probably a little bit different than the kids understanding. They sometimes just see what happened last time, but I contend that Crestview is improved. We have to be ready to go I know that is not an easy place to play over there,” said Seidel.
Published 2/16/17
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South Central Hoping to Reach Potential
South Central has played well in some games yet they really haven’t reached their potential and that is what they are trying to do here in the final weeks of the regular season.
They almost got the marquee win they have been looking for last Friday when they had a double digit lead on Firelands Conference leader New London, but it got away and the Wildcats won it (48-46) on a buzzer beater.
Coach Brett Seidel says that loss was tough to take, but he was happy with the way his kids responded the next night in a win over Mapleton (79-61) in conference play. “We were up 10 with the ball with a couple of minutes to go and we ended the game with five turnovers and two missed free throws to close it out and got beat at the buzzer. Against the conference leader we are leading and to lose that way I didn’t know how we would respond the next night. We responded pretty well and played pretty hard the next night. We were able to shoot the ball pretty well and beat Mapleton, who had just beaten Western the night before,” said Seidel.
The biggest thing they have to improve, according to the coach, is putting games away, like against New London. “I would say closing games, that is number one and that is what we are working on. We are working on situations everyday at practice. We are working on defenses where they are taking our point guard out of the mix and how to combat that by making plays because that is what New London did to us down the stretch. We are working on how to respond and still run an offense when that is happening,” said Seidel.
South Central (10-7,6-5) plays at Plymouth (4-14,2-9) on Friday night in a Firelands Conference game. The Big Red has won two of their last three, including a win over Galion (71-64) on Tuesday night.
The Trojans beat Plymouth (76-43) in their first meeting, but Seidel believes if will be much closer this time. “We have already talked about it is not going to be the same kind of result as last time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday morning, “Right now, as much as possible we are trying to focus on process and trying to get better and trying to play better each day, each practice, each rep, every thing we are trying to do we are trying to get better at. We are really not focused on what happened before because we know they are playing better than they were before. They have lots of pieces that are doing what they need to do for them to be successful. They had Western on the ropes.”
Edison (9-6) of the bay division of the Sandusky Bay Conference welcomes South Central on Saturday night. Seidel says the Chargers are a division three school that is athletic and plays a big schedule. “It will be a really big challenge. It will be a big test for us heading into the tournament trail. Their league is very good. They beat Vermilion, they took Huron to overtime. When you throw Sandusky Perkins into the mix it is a very deep, and talented, and tough league that they play in. They have really long and athletic kids that can shoot it, so and they play really, really good defense and they play hard the entire 32 minutes, so definitely a tall order for us on Saturday night as well,” said Seidel.
Published 2/08/17
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South Central Working on Consistency
South Central picked up two wins this past weekend, and made some good progress, but there is still a lot more work to get done in the final weeks of the regular season.
The Trojans play host to Firelands Conference leader New London and fast paced Mapleton to in a pair of conference games on Friday and Saturday nights.
Last week, they had a big fourth quarter and beat Monroeville in a conference game (65-45) on Friday night and downed Mansfield Christian (63-52) in a non league game on Saturday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says they needed to get wins, but they still need to be better in their execution. “The win itself was a little bit the medicine that we needed, but obviously still not particularly pleased with how we are playing consistency wise. I feel we are doing some good things in moments, but we are unable to carry that out over 32 minutes or four quarters,” he said.
There is no question South Central has talent, but Seidel says they need to be sharp for an extended period of times during games if they are going to beat good teams. “Everybody continues to tell me how talented we are and I am aware of that, but getting kids to play together and play hard over a period of time is the struggle right now. We are just trying to get better. I don’t want to talk about outcomes or anything. The kids are starting to turn the corner, but the four quarters just aren’t there yet,” said Seidel.
South Central (9-5,5-4) plays at home against New London (12-3,8-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday night. New London lost their first conference game on the year last Friday to Western Reserve (60-51) and the Roughriders and Norwalk St. Paul trail the Wildcats now by just one.
Seidel says they need to execute and play hard for four quarters. “The whole weekend is going to be up tempo. Obviously New London likes to go up and down and Mapleton likes to go up and down and we aren’t opposed to it either. It should be a fun weekend of basketball. Hopefully we can put four good practices together and compete our tails off on Friday night,” he said.
It was (61-55) New London when the two played the first time on December 17.
New London probably has the league’s best player in Ryan Lane, but Seidel says they have other good players too and Lane gets them the ball, plus Wildcats are very good on defense too. “The thing with Ryan Lane is he is unselfish. He makes the correct basketball play. He makes everyone around him better and then you throw kids that can shoot the basketball around him and that make it difficult because you can’t just scheme for Ryan Lane because he is going to find them open man and he is going to make the right play. He is going to get his teammates some shots they can make,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Coach Howell does a great job teaching defense. They are probably the best defensive team in our league. That is another key to the puzzle you are just trying to scheme for Ryan Lane, but try and figure out some ways to score as well.”
Published 1/31/17
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South Central’s Goal is to Get Better
Unless something along the line of the Cavs comeback to win last year’s NBA title, the South Central Trojans are not going to win back to back Firelands Conference titles.
They lost two tough ones to Western Reserve (58-56) and Norwalk St. Paul (56-49) last week and coach Brett Seidel admits that has put them in position where they pretty much need a miracle when it comes to the conference title. “Being four games back, even three games back was a long shot. It was a big weekend with Western and St. Paul tied with them with two losses and coming out of the weekend with four losses and with New London still undefeated that has basically put us out of contention for back to back titles,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, now our focus is trying to pay attention to detail and process and trying to simplify and get better for the tournament run.”
Seidel says they really aren’t even thinking about the post season tournament, but rather about how they can get better as a team. “Anything can happen in the tournament and that is what we starting to talk about right now. We have not had very good luck with tournament in the previous years. Our goal is to not focus on that outcome, but to just focus on getting better,” he said.
South Central (7-6,4-4) plays at Monroeville (1-13,0-8) in a conference game on Friday night. The Eagles played Western pretty tough last Saturday in losing (59-46) and Seidel says their kids better have a focused effort or they are going to be sorry. “If you look at their scores they continue to play competitive basketball. I think he has them playing with even good opponents. The Western game was eight points in the second half. It is not going to be just a walk though. If we think we are just going to walk in and they are going to roll over that is not how it is going to work. They compete and they play hard. They play zone mostly, but it is keeping them in the game,” said Seidel.
On Saturday night, the Trojans host Mansfield Christian (5-8) in a non-conference game. Seidel says the Flames make you execute on both ends of the floor. “Anytime you face a John Kurtz team you are going to have your hands full because no matter what personnel he has he is going to make them play very, very good man to man defense and run an offense efficiently. Saturday night is not really our focus right now, but when we get there it is not going to be an easy task,” he said.
Published 1/25/17
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Roughriders Edge South Central
Colton Puter’s three pointer that bounced on the rim four times before falling through with 17 seconds remaining lifted the Western Reserve Roughriders to a (58-56) win over South Central on Thursday night in Firelands Conference action.
That keeps Western (7-5,5-2) two games behind conference leading New London, who beat Plymouth (63-46) on Thursday, and drops the Trojans (7-5,4-3) three games back.
South Central had taken a (56-55) lead on Jason Hale’s hoop with 42 seconds left.
After the Puter three, South Central coach Brett Seidel called a time out with nine seconds left to set up a final play. Ben Lamereaux’s three from the right wing was in an out, but was rebounded by Michael Ponchel and he was fouled with .9 seconds. Needing make both free throws he missed the first and purposely missed the second, but the Trojans were unable to get a tip in.
Western Reserve coach Chris Sheldon says they persevered and that is what you have to do this year in the Firelands Conference. “That is what our league has become this year to be honest with you. Even in our two league losses they have come down to the last minute and really our overtime win with Crestview the same way. It comes down to which guys are going to make the play and the last play. The greatest thing about Colton hitting that big three was you preach to kids all of the time stay in the moment, stay in the game, he is obviously out best player right now on the floor, but he was hampered with foul trouble all night. It is really easy for guys in those situations to sulk, to lose sight of what their goal is, what their purpose is on the bench, and stay mentally tuned into the game. He came in and gave us four great minutes with four fouls and hits a big shot and we are fortunate enough to escape with their good player missing a free throw,” said Sheldon.
Tyler Bartlett led all scorers with 18 for the Roughriders. Cody Palmer added 16 and Dale Smith had 10. Freshman Simon Blair led South Central with 13, Lamereaux had 11 and Ponchel 10.
South Central was down as many as 10 in the first half (30-20,) but the battle back to take a (45-44) lead on Blair’s three with 6:15 left and again with 1:47 left (54-53) Lamereaux’s three.
Seidel says Western made some big shots and they made too many mistakes. “To be honest with you I just thought they shot it well. That is my honest opinion. I didn’t think we rebounded the ball very well in the second half. They got a lot of second shots. We had a lot of careless turnovers. I thought our shot selection was suspect at times. Credit them I thought they shot the ball really well (Thursday) night. I have about every film on them and they shot it well, so credit Chris. I thought they did a nice job of taking Simon (Blair) away in the first half. In the second half they didn’t allow us to run anything, so we stuck with motion and our transition and felt like that was somewhat affective. I thought we got to the rim. We got to the front of the rim as much as we wanted to, but they made one more play that is what it came down to, they made one more play than us,” said Seidel.
Five different Roughriders made threes on the night and Sheldon says his team has to make perimeter shots to win games. “That is sort of what we do. We don’t have a big hog that we can throw the ball down into the post to. What we are affective doing is shooting the three and (Thursday) night we shot it fairly well and we hit big ones at the right time. I think the thing that pleases me the most is we have had some guys go through some slumps here and there, but its still looks to me like we are shooting the ball with confidence and that speaks volumes on just how mentally tough we are at this point,” he said.
Western Reserve was successful in taking South Central out of lot they wanted to do on offense. Sheldon says they game them a lot of different looks. “I think when we were able to get our lead we got a lot of deflections on the basketball with our pressure and the different looks we were giving them. That was really, really affective for us, especially in that second quarter when we extended the lead. They came right out, as good teams do, and made a run right back at us to start the third. We did for the most part make them take tough shots unfortunately there were some moments in there where we had some really poor defensive possessions,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “More importantly having a four point lead and the ball with two minutes to go and not able to close them out with veteran guys on the floor. The great thing is we made those two mistakes and we were still able to come away with a win. Hopefully we can learn from that and improve on that and we are going to have to because this isn’t going to be the last one. This first round has just been a meat grinder and we start back over Saturday night and it is going to continue to be that way coming down the stretch here,” said Sheldon.
Published 1/20/17
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South Central With Big Ones Against Western and St. Paul
As competitive as the Firelands Conference is this year things are probably going to change a least a couple times over the next five weeks, but right now it looks like three losses and you are out.
South Central, the defending champion, already has two and must play at Western Reserve on Thursday and Norwalk St. Paul (7-3,4-2) on Saturday in conference games. The Flyers just beat South Central (53-37) last Wednesday.
The Trojans played one of their better games of the season last Friday in destroying Crestview (80-49) and coach Brett Seidel says they played pretty consistently for four quarters. “I thought our intensity and aggressiveness was consistent throughout the game, especially in the first half, we were really good defensively, but overall it was a good team win and everybody contributed,” he said.
Seidel says it is a tough assignment for them this week and it’s going to take a great effort. “It is a balanced league with great coaches. We are facing two of the most well prepared coaches this week. We have already seen St. Paul and they held us to our season low in points. Obviously Chris (Sheldon) does a great job with his kids. Two great teams, two great coaches, and it will take a special effort collectively for us to come out on top this week,” he said.
South Central (7-4,4-2) plays at Western Reserve (6-5,4-2) on Thursday night. St. Paul also beat Western last week (56-50) on Friday. The Roughriders have been playing without their best kid in sophomore Jaret Griffith, the conference MVP from last year. However, Seidel says they have been pretty good nevertheless. “They are good without him. Obviously he is dynamic and preparing for him is tough, but they still have five other very good veterans on the team and then a couple of young kids that can make shots. They are still very skilled across the board. We better prepare as well as we can,” he said.
The Firelands has been very competitive this year, but New London is still unbeaten in the conference as we head to the end of the first half of league play. Seidel says that makes these two road games this week very important for them. “What we keep coming back to is we lost three games in the league last year and still won the league outright. This year it is even more balanced top to bottom. The top six teams have winning records. I feel like anybody can beat anybody on any given night. We are just going to take if one game at a time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are not going to put all of our eggs in one basket and say if we lose one of these games this week we are completely out of it, but in essence that is what is happening. It comes down to this week whether if we win or Western wins or St. Paul wins if you drop back three games you are probably on the outside looking in.”
Published 1/18/17
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Trojans in Must Win Situation
After a loss Wednesday night to Norwalk St. Paul, the South Central Trojans trail first place New London by two games in the Firelands Conference standings.
They might have to run the table if they are going to defend their conference title.
South Central didn’t score in the games final four minutes on Wednesday night and St. Paul beat them (53-37) in a game that was rescheduled from December. Trojans coach Brett Seidel says the Flyers clearly wanted it more. “I would like to credit coach Smith and his kids for the way they played. They came in with a real nice game plan and then followed it to a tee. I thought they were a little bit more hungry than we were,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Our mentality didn’t match their mentality. Intensity wise they were at a different level than us. They played really well and we didn’t because of them.”
Crestview (6-4,3-2) comes to South Central (6-4,3-2) on Friday night for a Firelands Conference game. Crestview has lost its last two Friday night (60-56) in overtime to Western Reserve in a conference game and (87-48) to Northwestern Monday night in a non-conference game.
Seidel says the Cougars do a lot of things well. “They do a lot of good things. They play extremely hard. They play at a high pace. They like to get up in you and make things difficult throughout the game. If you are not handling that kind of pressure that can lead to turnovers,” said Seidel.
Against Crestview you must handle the ball well and Seidel says if you are able to break that pressure you have to make them pay by scoring the ball. “They don’t ever take a possession off. If you get out of a trap and by the initial wave, but then from behind you know they are coming after you. On each possession you have to be alert and you have to be aggressive at the same time,” he said.
Trailing first place New London by two games, and having already lost to the Wildcats this season, Seidel believes that every conference game from here on out is a must win for them. “The way we look at it every game is important, especially every league game. I would like to think we are not completely out of it. So, all of our games from here on out are basically a must win,” he said.
Published 1/13/17
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Trojans Need to Beat Plymouth
South Central, the defending champion, is right there in the Firelands Conference race, just a game behind New London entering play this weekend.
They host Plymouth in a conference game on Friday night.
In a tune up in non-conference play on Tuesday night, the Trojans buried Crestline (68-47) after leading by five at the break.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were able to buckle down in the second half. “We started out fast. They responded with a dunk. I don’t know if my kids weren’t used to seeing that or what, but they made a run at the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter. We finally settled down in the second half and played some defense. The played well in the first half and credit them with that. We shored it up and rebounded the ball well in the second half,” he said.
South Central has been scoring points, they beat Mapleton (91-73) in a conference game last Friday.
Seidel likes what they are doing on offense, but not so much on defense right now. “We are trying to hone in on things we are trying to work on. We still aren’t very good at executing when we are changing defenses from a flex defense to a zone defense to a man defense. Going from defense to defense we are lost still. Our effort is the same in each one. We are still trying to fine tune some things defensively. Offensively I feel like we are sharing the ball really well right now. We need to continue to do that. When that happens we are pretty hard to guard,” said Seidel.
South Central (5-3,2-1) hosts Plymouth (1-7,1-3) on Friday night. The Big Red lost (62-35) to Western Reserve last week and is in the mist of a seven game losing streak.
Seidel says you can forget about all of that. “You can throw records and all of that stuff out of the window when Plymouth and South Central get together. That is usually how it works. You really can’t pay attention to what they have done and what we have done,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “It seems like it doesn’t matter. I remember a few years ago when they had Tyrell. His sophomore year we beat them and honestly we shouldn’t have been playing with them. It doesn’t matter what has happened, there is a rivalry thing and it is bigger than just who is on the floor and it goes back aways.”
Plymouth also upset South Central last season.
Published 1/05/17
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More Mental Toughness for South Central
South Central has shown good talent, but they have not been able to close out wins that that talent might dictate.
Case in point
was last Thursday when they lost to athletic Oberlin Firelands (58-50) in
non-conference play or the week before to talented New London (61-56) in
Firelands Conference play.
Coach Brett Seidel says they just lost their focus at key times
during the games. “It is back to back games that we have let 10 point leads
slip away with two minutes in third. They came back with physicality and
aggression and we didn’t respond. We weren’t mentality tough. We looked
gassed and that is partly my fault for not subbing the way I should be. At
the end we didn’t make enough plays and turned it over for layups and that
was the difference,” said Seidel.
In order to improve Seidel says the Trojans have to battle adversity better and they share the ball more. “It’s really just chemistry and mental toughness. Our mental approach and our grasping of game plans and concepts what we need to be doing with certain personnel, tendencies of the opponent, we really haven’t connected with that yet. Our chemistry at the offensive end is suspect. The ball gets a little sticky with us. We are trying to do a little too much on the first drive instead of the second or third drive,” he said.
South Central (3-3,1-1) plays at Mapleton (5-2,1-2) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. Seidel describes the Mounties as an athletic team that likes to get down the floor and get shots up quickly. “I watched them live (Tuesday) night. I have seen them on film twice. They are very athletic. They shoot a lot of threes over a short time span,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “You really have to get back and get into position and get ready to guard and then you have box out because they run down offensive rebounds. All five of them do it. That is the key getting back in transition and finding their shooters and then make sure we check out and find that board.”
South Central has had their way with Mapleton over the years, but Seidel says the Mounties are going to be a factor in the league this year and they absolutely can not be overlooked. “I don’t feel like you can overlook anybody. Mapleton has been on the rise. You could see it last year. Obviously they are starting to believe. They competed well with us last year in both games, at their place and our place. I don’t believe we should be overlooking them because they played with us last year,” he said.
Published 12/29/16
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South Central Must be a Team
South Central lost a battle between Firelands Conference contenders last Saturday at New London and now they have to recognize what they need to do to improve.
It was a game up for grabs until the final moments, but New London beat the Trojans (61-56) last Saturday night. Coach Brett Seidel feels his team got away from what makes them good. “I am hoping that we did learn. I feel like we have played enough that we should already know what works and what doesn’t work. We have been pretty consistent over the last three or four years of not changing anything and staying with the same stuff. As far was what was expected and what we feel is good basketball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I thought we did that in the first quarter and then we got away from it in the second quarter and that really was contagious to others in the third and fourth. I want to credit New London and coach Howell they played very hard and they made more shots than we did down the stretch and that was the difference.”
Seidel says there was too much individual play against New London and they need to play more like a team. “I think we understand what it is, but I don’t think we are all committed to it yet. We still have some ironing out to do. I am not going to say buying in, but somewhat conforming to what works and what doesn’t work. I think sometimes we get into that we are pretty skilled, so we all think we need to do it on our own. I think it has been proven it doesn’t work, so hopefully because of that and the results that have come because of those choices I hope that we do learn and apply,” he said.
South Central (3-2) plays a new opponent to their schedule on Thursday night as they travel to Oberlin Firelands in non-conference play. Seidel knows they are in for a test. “What I do know is they beat Western Reserve and Western Reserve, so that is enough said for me to know we are going to have our hands full. If you go into Western and beat Sheldon on his floor I understand that would be a tough game for us. That is the way we are approaching it. I know that they have two really good players and that their post has a very high motor. Their guard is a very good coast to coast player and good straight line driver. We are trying to get ready the best we can. We need to just approach it for us. We are not really worried about what they are going to do, but more about how we need to play and if we do that we are going to have a chance,” said Seidel.
Published 12/21/16
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South Central Starts Defense of Title
South Central is the defending Firelands Conference champion and they tip-off defense of that title on Friday night at home against the Monroeville Eagles and then play at rival New London on Saturday night in a conference double header.
The Trojans did not play last week at all as their game against Norwalk St. Paul on Friday was pushed back to early January due to St. Paul’s successful football season.
They returned to action on Tuesday in blowing out Lucas (69-41) in game that was played at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Coach Brett Seidel says they played pretty well over the last three quarters of the game. “We started kind of slow. We hadn’t played in a week and were kind of anxious. We had trouble catching it and had trouble finishing, but part of that is credit to Lucas. He is doing a real nice job with them over there. We were fortunate enough to share the basketball and make some shots and come out of there with a win,” said Seidel.
Monroeville (0-2,0-1) lost their first conference game last week to Western Reserve (77-40) and dropped one the next night to Margaretta (68-45) in non-league play.
Seidel tells us what they expect from the Eagles. “On film it looks like they are playing dominate zone, 2-3 zone a lot. I have seen them in a triangle and two. They have zone pressed a little bit. We are expecting that. The two teams they have played were pretty good opponents in Western Reserve and Margaretta. By playing the two opponents they have I would say they are not going to be afraid of us,” he said.
With New London on the horizon, Seidel knows they need to have focus if they are going have success against Monroeville. “Especially with New London on the back half on Saturday night at New London it is definitely kind of a trap game for us and with what happened last year with the two lopsided victories,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I expect us to come out and play hard and play well. It is our first home game. I would think the kids would be excited about playing at home. It has been a little while since we have been able to do that. I am hoping we can come out with some energy.”
As for New London (2-0,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, they destroyed Crestview (68-31) last week. Seidel says senior Ryan Lane is a beast. “Just finding someone to match-up with him. He just does everything so well. He is strong, he rebounds well, he defends, he shares it, he makes his shots from the outside, he can post you, he has a mid range game, he does everything, off the dribble, off the catch, he is a load. Trying to figure our how to stop him is a match-up nightmare. They have shooters around him and they mix defenses well. Obviously, Tom (Howell) has them playing hard, so it is going to be a test,” said Seidel.
Published 12/16/16
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No Games, but Hard Work For South Central
South Central came out of the opening weekend one up and one down and now they must wait a week to play again.
Their scheduled game with Norwalk St. Paul on Friday has been moved to later in the season due to the Flyers football run.
Last Friday, the Trojans (1-1) opened the season with a (76-58) loss to Mansfield St. Peter’s. The game was tied after the first quarter, but coach Brett Seidel says they were never able to slow down the Trojans fast break. “Their transition offense is hard to prepare for. We prepared for at least three weeks constantly talking about their transition. I remember it from last year and in the summer. We talked about it, we addressed it, we practiced it, but it is hard to prepare for. The second half it seemed like that was all they shot was layups. I don’t know if they even attempted a jump shot in the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “If they did they were getting an offensive rebound and sticking it back. I know they made 26 shots from the paint. They just looked a lot more athletic than us that night. They all can handle it. They all can pass it. They are willing to share it. They got the best of us.”
They then picked up a in (52-51) win at Buckeye Central on Saturday night. Seidel says they were able to make some big plays late in the game.
“Just to go into Buckeye after losing the night before and going on the road and winning on the road we are still kind of feeling our way through here and Buckeye is likewise. To go in and beat a program like Phil Loy’s by any amount of points is a success in my mind. At the beginning of the second half we let a five point swing take place and momentum took over. We are fortunate enough that (Josh) Bonet made a tough shot down the stretch, very trimly, and we were able to play some decent defense, and get a board that fortunately came our way and get the win,” said Seidel.
South Central doesn’t play until December 13 at Quicken Loans Arena against Lucas in a non-conference game. Seidel says they will attack practice a little differently this week. “I would rather play double weekends early and single weekends late. I would rather the schedule be that way. Unfortunately we had St. Paul scheduled and they made their playoff push in football, so we are stuck without a game this weekend. Thankfully we play (next) Tuesday at “The Q” (against Lucas,) so we don’t have to wait until the following Friday. We are going to work extra hard these next three or four days and hopefully come out in game form,” he said.
Published 12/06/16
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South Central With Tough Opening Weekend
South Central is the defending Firelands Conference champion with at least four kids that played significant roles on that team returning to the lineup.
They start the year this weekend with back to back tough games on the road against Mansfield St. Peter’s, the defending division four district champion, and always good Buckeye Central of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
South Central returns its second leading scorer in senior Michael Ponchel, another double figure scorer in Aaron Lamereaux, plus major contributors Ben Lamereaux and Jason Hale.
Coach Brett Seidel says it’s going to be a big test for them and he is hoping they are able to compete. “I think I am just curious to see how we respond, especially opening with the two programs we are opening against in St. Peter’s and Buckeye. Just how we respond and who steps up and who leads and just how it goes. I don’t expect to be playing our best basketball the first game in December, but I’m hoping we are able to come out and compete,” he said.
They will also have two freshmen on the varsity in Simon Blair and Isaiah Seidel, the son of the coach. Those kids have played a lot of “AAU” basketball when they were even younger and coach Seidel doesn’t believe they will be intimidated by varsity action. “The good thing is the younger ones have played enough basketball outside of high school that I don’t think they would be in awe or being intimidated at all. I expect them to play well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I don’t exactly how well they will play. I don’t expect them to be playing scared. They haven’t looked that way in the scrimmages yet, but Friday night is a different test being on the road at St. Peter’s, but I do expect them to play with confidence and play well.”
Mansfield St. Peter’s is expected to field one of better small school units in this region this year with the return of Mason Campbell, Jared Jakubick and Tyson Kent among others. They were a big part of the district title team last year.
Seidel says they are just a year older and a year better. “I would imagine they are bigger and stronger, another year of maturity, another year of experience. They have had the tournament experience now. The mindset is there. They have large expectations. They are veterans now. I believe it is going to be our toughest test of the year,” he said.
Buckeye Central beat the Trojans by one last year on a basket by Max Loy. Seidel says the Bucks are tough to score against. “Phil does a great job preparing his kids. They are always physical and they are intentional with their defense. They are always tough to score on. Being a back to back night after St. Peter’s it is going to be a tough one for us,” he said.
Published 11/29/16
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South Central Wants to Defend
Last season, South Central won its first Firelands Conference boys’ basketball title since 2001 and now they are going to try and defend it and they know that isn’t going to be easy.
Coach Brett Seidel says there has been a lot of inconsistency in their play so far this preseason. “It is early and there have been a lot of inconsistencies, a lot of ups and downs. Defensively we have been good at times and bad at times. Offensively we have looked how we want to look and then there are times when we try to do everything on our own and everything off the dribble and that can tend to be a problem. Overall, not pleased, but why would I be at this time of the year,” he said.
There are some kids with a lot of experience on the varsity floor that will be putting on Trojan uniforms this winter, but Seidel says there will be some younger kids too, including two freshmen. “We have four seniors, three four year lettermen. We are expecting a lot out of them and then we have some newcomers. A sophomore guard up from the JVs where he played as a freshman. I have two freshmen that are going to be playing for me too. It’s a pretty skilled group. We are working on toughness and selflessness,” he said.
When it comes to freshmen on the varsity roster, Seidel says you have to get their feet wet as soon as possible because it is quite a jump from eighth grade to the varsity. “Summer helped us out a lot and going to the Eastern Ohio Camp and couple of shootouts and scrimmages and those types of things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday after film study and before practice, “It helped us see where they were, but also for them to see what it actually took for them to play at the varsity level. It is a big difference between eighth grade physically, the speed is so much faster, and size has something to do with it too. I feel like those two kids are ready to do it.”
When it comes
to defending that league title, Seidel knows it is going to be tougher than
it was to win last year, but they look forward to the battle they face. “I
would like to think we are in the top tier of the league. Getting there is
hard work, but staying there is even harder. I feel like you have to work
even harder to stay there. Now I know how hard it is to win a league
title. I would really like to sometime make a tournament run. We are going
to try and take it one day at a time and see what happens,” said Seidel.
Published 11/22/16
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South Central Has to Play With Intensity
South Central plays host to undefeated Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night outside of Greenwich.
It is fair to say that the Trojans would be a significant underdog in the game.
Last week, South Central (2-6,1-4) lost to Western Reserve (35-28) in a conference game.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says they did some good things last week, but they just made too many mistakes. “We played well last week, played hard. We just had a hard time stopping them. What they do is they line up, they are still a little bit bigger than we are, they just line up and come at you, and we had a hard time stopping that a times. We made a lot of mistakes. We make a nice play and get a holding call or there would be some penalty that would hurt us in a drive. We hurt ourselves a bit, but it was a good game,” said Hinkle.
When it comes to St. Paul (8-0,5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, Hinkle says they just play hard and fast and that separates them from a lot teams. “The thing that jumps out at you is how fast they play. John just gets his kids to play fast, playing fast, playing hard, and going full go all of the time. He has built a program there and put it together. We have to get our kids to believe that just because they are St. Paul that doesn’t mean anything they are still high school kids like you are and match their intensity some how and see what happens,” said Hinkle.
In many games St. Paul has things under control right off the bat in the first 12 minutes of the game. Hinkle says if they are going to have a chance at the upset they can’t let that happen on Friday. “You have to come out and somehow right off the bat match that intensity. John is going to play with a lot of intensity and with a lot of speed. Their game speed is just so much better than anybody else’s. It is something you can’t duplicate in practice with your younger kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “So, it makes it tough when you get out there in Friday night and it is wham, wham, wham. You have to try it. We still have two weeks left and this is a big one. I hope the kids do what we have talked about all week and just see what happens.”
Published 10/20/16
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South Central Trying to Limit Mistakes
South Central continues to hurt itself with penalties and other mistakes and they have to clean that up over the final month of the high school football season.
The Trojans (2-4,1-2) host Mapleton (2-4,1-2) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
They lost to unbeaten Monroeville (35-0) last week in a conference game. The Eagles are good, but South Central coach Wayne Hinkle says they hurt themselves too. “We just hurt ourselves. We scored a couple of times, but they got called back on penalties. We started hurting ourselves again. We just couldn’t get anything established and be consistent with it,” he said.
Hinkle agrees that if they get off to a good start they are likely to play better throughout the game. “If we get off to a good start we play better, that’s a lot of it. Getting some confidence and feeling good about yourself early helps out a lot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We thought we had a good stand, made a good play, and got called for interference, which let their drive go a little bit longer. After that we got a little gun shy, backed off a little bit and weren’t quite as aggressive.”
Mapleton lost a tough one last week to conference co-leader Crestview (14-13) when they scored in the final seconds, but missed a two point conversion.
Hinkle describes Mapleton has an athletic team that likes to get to the edge with the passing game. “They are very athletic. The quarterback likes to throw the ball a lot. They spread it around pretty good and it allows them to use their athletic ability. It should be a good game. We are both stronger on the outside and a little weaker on the inside. I’m hoping it will go down to the wire sand we can come out on top,” said Hinkle.
Published 10/06/16
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South Central Still Wants to be More Physical
South Central has the tendency to play exciting games, win or lose, and that was the case last week when they beat Plymouth in overtime.
Aaron Lamoreaux ran it in to give the Trojans a (33-27) win. Coach Wayne Hinkle says winning is what it is all about. “It seems like we can’t win one easy we have to make it hard on ourselves, but when you win one that is the main thing,” he said.
South Central beat Plymouth in double overtime last year.
The Trojans had a 10 point lead in the second half and let it get away. Plymouth kicked a 45 yard filed goal to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Hinkle says they still have a lot of things they have to clean up in terms of their execution. “We made a lot of mistakes that kept them in the game and gave them opportunities. We want to do better and do away with those mistakes. You are never going to play the perfect game, but you are always working for that,” he said.
South Central (2-3,1-1) plays at Monroeville (5-0,2-0) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. The Eagles share first place in the conference with Norwalk St. Paul and Crestview.
Hinkle says Monroeville has some kids that want to be physical. “They are going to be physical. I believe they lost their star tailback. We are not sure he is going to be running there, we think we know. They aren’t going to change anything. They are going to come out and be physical and run the ball and be physical on defense. We need to come out and match that this Friday and take it to them a little bit,” said Hinkle.
Blake Anderson ran for almost 250 yards for Monroeville in their (33-28) win over Mapleton last week, before leaving the game with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.
Hinkle says Monroeville will not go away from what they do well on the football field. “It is almost too late in the year to start changing things. They are going to plug some things in there like they did at the end of the Mapleton game. They are going to expect those kids to do the best they can. There may not be one feature back like Anderson has been. There might be a new one,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We went over there two years ago and their running back got hurt and that is when Anderson started running so well in the second half against us. We only hope that isn’t going to happen with these guys that are going to take his place.”
Published 9/28/16
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South Central Must be more Physical
South Central was handled in their Firelands Conference opener last week against Crestview and they have to bounce back this week against rival Plymouth.
Crestview got some early scores and they went onto blast the Trojans (49-7) last week. Coach Wayne Hinkle says they didn’t respond very well when then Cougars punched a couple in. “They made a couple of plays early and that happens, especially when you are young and it got in their heads a little bit. Once that happens with kids it is hard to get it back. They made some good plays and we helped them a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We weren’t in positions that you are supposed to be in and those things happen. You have to be able to bounce back. When they score that easy then we have to score that easy.”
Plymouth (2-2,0-1) comes to Greenwich to face the Trojans (1-3,0-1) on Friday night. The Big Red lost (35-21) to unbeaten Monroeville last week. They often line up in a spread formation, but Hinkle says they want to try and run the ball first. “I think by watching film they want to run the football. They try and come at you and be physical and see if they can’t beat you that way,” he said.
The Trojans must compete at the point of attack better than they did last week and because if that doesn’t happen Hinkle says Plymouth is going to keep running they ball at them. “Our kids inside have to realize that. We have to be able to pick it up and be a little tougher and be a little more competitive them we were last week,” he said.
Published 9/20/19
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South Central Wants to Continue to Move Forward
South Central picked up its first win of the season last week against Crestline and they open Firelands Conference play Friday night at Crestview against the Cougars.
The Trojans rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Crestline (26-21) last week and coach Wayne Hinkle says they just kept working hard and that was the difference. “I thought the kids did really well. They came out at the top of the page and played well, had a little lull in the middle of the game, but stuck with it and came back and played hard at the end and got a win. The main thing was we got a win. We needed a win and the program needed a win. We got that win under our belts, that first one, and that’s good,” said Hinkle.
You can talk improvement, you can even talk execution, but Hinkle says nothing improves confidence like putting one in the win column. “There is nothing better than a win. The week before we were close, but we still lost and close doesn’t count. That winning feeling when you come off the field with a win over your belt things just feels much better. Practice has went better,” said Hinkle.
Crestview (2-1) throttled Sandusky St. Mary’s (42-0) last week. Hinkle says they are deep and he expects a battle. “They are a nice team. They have a lot kids out on the team this year. They have played some good games already. They are just a good team,” he told Swankonsports.com, “The last two years we have had really good games with them and we are hoping to keep that trend going. Friday night should be a good, hard fought game and hopefully the Trojans come out on top.”
South Central has won the last two games against Crestview, winning (31-30) in double overtime last year and (27-20) in 2014.
When it comes to winning again this week, Hinkle says the formula is really no different for them. “We just have to do what we have been doing and get better at it. We are getting better every game, every week, Our offensive lineman, who are in the first year in their position, are getting better every week. We need to keep improving and play hard. We need to cut down on penalties, we had way too many of those last week,” said Hinkle.
Published 9/15/16
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South Central Needs to Improve up Front
Last year, South Central seemed to have the ability to win close games, but they hope that last week isn’t a sign of things to come.
Rittman scored in the final minute of the game last week to beat the Trojans (19-14) and give them their second loss in as many games this year.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says it was tough to take. He says they have to be better finishers in those situations. “Those are a little tougher to take when you were probably expected to win. We really thought we could win that game. We just didn’t finish things off. Down at the goal line we didn’t finish things off and score ourselves and we didn’t finish off by allowing them to score. We have to keep getting better and finish things when we get them started,” said Hinkle.
A big key for the Trojans, according to Hinkle, is to get better in the trenches, especially along the offensive line. “We need to get better inside on our lines, offensively more than defensively. Our offensive line has to get better. They need to hold their blocks a little longer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They need to be more together. Sometimes they aren’t doing things perfectly together and that hurts us a little bit. The biggest improvement we need to make is on the offensive line.”
South Central (0-2) hosts Crestline (1-1) in their final non-conference game of the season on Friday night. The Bulldogs beat Grove City Christian (10-7) last Friday. Hinkle says that will give the Bulldogs some extra confidence and make them harder to beat. “They are going to be tough. Crestline football is always tough. They got a win last week, so that is going to be big for them. They will have a little more confidence. It’s our first home game, so we have to play well and get a win for ourselves,” he said.
Published 9/06/16
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South Central Needs to Plugging Away
South Central plays Rittman in a non-conference football game on Friday night.
Right in the game at halftime last week, they were pushed around in the second half by Seneca East and lost to the Tigers (54-20) on the opening week of the season.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says they kind of lost their focus in the third quarter of the game. “They came out and had a couple of big plays right off the bat and that hurt us real quick and we just didn’t rebound fast enough to get back into it. I thought we finished off scoring there at the end and doing some nice things there at the end of the game. In the early part of the third quarter, and the middle of it, we kind of lost it,” said Hinkle.
Seneca East was a more physical football team and due to circumstances they ran the ball a little more than would have been expected and that was bad news for the Trojans, according to Hinkle. “We just need to keep playing. It was a tough game for us. They were just so much bigger than us size wise. They had some injuries, so it made them change what we had seen them do. I really thought if they ran the ball we were going to have some trouble,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It ended up with their quarterback getting hurt that’s what happened. We just need to keep getting better, keep playing, and do what we do best.”
Rittman won their first game of the season, beating Richmond Heights (47-8) last Friday. Hinkle says this is another team that is going to try and run the football against them. “We expect them to run the ball a little bit too with some option and run the quarterback a little bit. They have two running backs that run the ball well. They will spread you out and try and do some of that stuff. Defensively they run a 4-4 or 4-3. It’s the stuff we see every game almost. Teams try to spread you out and run it or spread you out and throw it. Size wise they are about the same size and that is nice. We get to play against some kids that are our size,” said Hinkle.
Published 8/31/16
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South Central Ready to be Challenged
South Central plays at Seneca East in non-conference play to open the high school football season on Friday night.
Coming off a season when they won twice in overtime, but have to replace their best player due to graduation, veteran coach Wayne Hinkle says even with some injuries he likes their progression. “I liked the way the kids have improved, worked to improve, and have improved,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Went backwards somewhat last week with injuries, but there are some other kids that can step up and take some responsibility there with the kids that are missing. We had a good scrimmage on Friday, the kids looked pretty good, and I think they are ready to go.”
With that opener on the horizon from Friday, Hinkle says it has the Trojans ready to go to war with someone other than the guys wearing the same colored jerseys. “After two weeks of 7:30 in the morning and coming in every day they are ready for a change,” he said.
When it comes to Seneca East, Hinkle looks for the Tigers to try and throw the ball a lot. He says they will be a challenge physically. “They are big and athletic and strong. They went to the playoffs last year, so that will always be a little bit of a boost. They aren’t going to change much. They are going to come at you through the air and line up and try and beat up on you a little bit with their size,” said Hinkle.
Published 8/23/16
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Trojans Want to Get Better Step by Step
South Central football coach Wayne Hinkle is trying to be patient with his group this year and put together a plan for success.
Swankonsports.com visited Greenwich on Tuesday, the second day of two day workouts in preparation for the 2016 season.
Hinkle says they have 33 kids and they have been putting in a good effort. “One thing is we are up in numbers a little bit. Each year we have gotten a few more players and that is good for us. (Monday) was the first day of practice and (Tuesday) we were much better. That is what we have to do keep getting better each day. Try to make practice better each day. That’s not going to happen in reality, but you have to talk about it and hopefully they try and do that for you,” said Hinkle.
There are some inexperienced kids that are going to see some playing time for the Trojans this fall and Hinkle says they want to make sure those players understand their responsibilities. “The old saying is you are getting better or you are getting worse, you don’t stay the same. You have to make sure you are looking ahead and working ahead. We are young right now. Especially offensive line wise, we are moving some kids around that have never played there before and some young kids. So, we are going a little slow, but we are looking good right now. They are paying attention and they are getting better,” he said.
The offensive line must work together to be successful and Hinkle says with those kids, especially the younger ones, he wants to be basic and the beginning and then build. “It’s important for them to break things down. We make it slow, so they understand. When they get older you can throw things at them and tell them this and that and everything,” he told Swankonsports.com after practice, “When they are first starting out you can break it down and make it easy for them, so they can make some adjustments on their own when they need to. We are not on the field, we aren’t holding their hands. They need to be able to see things and react to them.”
Cameron Conway was one of the better power backs in the area last season, but the Trojans lost him to graduation. Hinkle says they have to find some new guys to turn to. “You have to go with your strengths. Last year, he was our strength, this year we have some other strengths and we need those people to step and do what they do. You never replace anybody really. Especially at our level you just move around and somebody else steps up. It’s not always going to be the same position. We are going to miss him, love to have him back,” he said.
Published 8/03/16
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South Central Locks Horns with Colonel Crawford
South Central and Colonel Crawford have combined to win 32 games already this season and they meet in a second round game in division four on Friday night at Sandusky High School.
The Trojans (17-6) are the outright Firelands Conference champions and Colonel Crawford finished third in tough Northern 10 Athletic Conference behind unbeaten Upper Sandusky and Buckeye Central.
South Central held on to beat Plymouth (72-68) on Tuesday night in a first round game and coach Brett Seidel says they almost let it get away. "We hit a three and went up 19 and I called timeout and reminded them we need to finish the game playing defense. We went out and they got a double deflection, it hit two of our kids, and they hit a three and it just snowballed momentum for them. From there they hit shots, we took quick shots, turned the ball over and didn't play defense and box out," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "We really didn't do anything the fourth quarter. Credit them, they didn't give up and played really hard in the fourth quarter. We were fortunate to come out of there with a win."
Colonel Crawford (15-7) has been to the regionals twice in the last four years and to the district final the other two. Seidel says they have a very balanced team that is outstanding on defense. "I am just hoping they are not as good as they look on film. They have got pieces. They have got bigs that are skilled. They have a really good go to guy that can do a little of everything in (Owen) Adams. They have a shooter running the point for them, a shooter in the corner that knocks down shots, and a defensive mined approach with Kirkpatrick and Bute. They have a complete team and obviously they are really well coached. We know we are in for a very, very tough game on Friday and we know we are going to have to play our "A" game," said Sediel.
When you have two good teams like this, Seidel says you have to play a compete game if you are going to win. "It comes down to we are going to have to make shots, number one, and number two we are going to have to get stops and rebound the basketball at both ends. They are very good on the glass at both ends and we are going to have to make sure we concentrate on that," he said.
Published 2/25/16
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Firelands Conference Champ Open Tourney on Tuesday
South Central has done something they haven't done in almost 15 years. They won the outright Firelands Conference title and now they want to be able to take that success to the post season.
The Trojans (16-6) play Plymouth (6-13) in a first round game in the division four post season tournament on Tuesday night at Sandusky High School.
They lost their final regular season game at Western Reserve (63-60) in Firelands Conference play last Friday night. Coach Brett Seidel says they didn't make good decisions down the stretch. "I thought for most of the game we were pretty much in control, but in the fourth quarter they found some rhythm and the freshman they have hit about three or four threes. Tough threes, pull ups from deep," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "They made their free throws down the stretch and we didn't execute at the end of the game like we can. I got teed up. There were lots of variables. We ended up getting outscored by eight in the fourth quarter, 24-16, and that was the game."
Plymouth is a sub .500 team but they have some big wins this year, including their first meeting at home against South Central. Seidel says the Big Red can do things at both ends of the floor. "They have a lot of perimeter shooters. They rebound the basketball at both ends very well. We have to make sure we come ready to play," he said.
Plymouth won (65-56) at their place and South Central returned the favor (74-51) in Greenwich this month. Seidel says really all of the pressure is on them and they need to be in top form. "They are the lower seed plus they have already beat us, so they have that going for them as well. That is added to their confidence. So, we know that we are not in for an easy game with them having that 0-0 mentality and they have already beat us in the regular season," he said.
Published 2/23/16
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South Central Wants to Finish Strong
South Central has already secured an outright Firelands Conference title, but they don't want to let the foot off the gas pedal.
They play at Western Reserve in their final regular season game on Friday night.
Last week, they won two overtime games, edging Crestview (66-64) to win the conference on Friday night and getting past Sandusky St. Mary's (71-69) on Saturday night in a non league contest.
Coach Brett Seidel was pleased with both the outcome and the fact that they had to play well to win. "We played the way we wanted to. We had to battle some adversity. To win in overtime against good teams that is kind of what prepares you for tournaments," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "That is really encouraging. We haven't really had it going in the right direction at this point in the season for the previous six years of my career. To see the kids starting to see how things go and starting to build on that it has snowballed in the right way for us."
With a good Western Reserve team on Friday, Seidel says his kids are still engaged and not already thinking about next week. "Usually at this time of year lots of kids are looking ahead. They are looking for baseball gloves, ready to get out the track shoes or whatever, their done. It is a long grueling season anyway. In seeing them in practice and just in conversation with them, they want to make this last as long as we can," he said.
South Central (16-5,11-2) plays at Western Reserve (13-7,9-4) on Friday night in a Firelands Conference game. South Central won the first match up (49-43) last month. Seidel feels the Rough Riders play better on their home floor. "That is the only focus right now is Western. Obviously by the looks of their scores and the looks of their film they play a lot better at home. They shoot it well at home. That was one of the things they didn't do well at our place. We know we are in for a very tough test and will have to be able to play well in order to win at the end," said Seidel.
The fact that they have had to play some strong teams at the end of the season helps to prepare them for the tournament and Western Reserve is certainly that for sure, according to Seidel. "It is going to prepare us hopefully for next week. You don't want to be coasting or back into the tournament. You want to be going full ahead forward. We are hoping to continue to play well. Hopefully shots go down for us (Friday) night and we get a chance to win," he said.
Published 2/19/16
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South Central Wants it Now
South Central has two opportunities to become outright Firelands Conference champion, but they don't want to wait.
They want to win it Friday night at home against Crestview, not wait and try to win at Western Reserve next week.
Coach Brett Seidel, seeking his first conference title as a coach, says they want to take care of business this week. "We have two games to play in the league and one tough one out of the league, but we don't want it to come down to that last game, we want to lock it up Friday night and be able to celebrate at home. That is our goal right now. That is our mindset," he said.
Crestview (9-9,6-6) took South Central (14-5,10-2), #4 in the Swankonpsorts.com boys' basketball poll in the small school division, to overtime in their first meeting for losing (76-69) to the Trojans. Plus, they just beat Western Reserve (71-68) last Friday. Seidel says the Cougars are a very good offensive team. "They are very dangerous. They have shooters and they have a very fast point guard with the ball in his hands. When they are making shots, with the pressure they apply, it can be a long night," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "We are obviously not taking them lightly because they did take us to overtime. We were fortunate to hit a shot with 10 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime. We know this is going to be a tough one."
With the way they play, Seidel says Crestview scores in bunches and they need to make them guard them, especially in the paint. "We can't settle. They score with momentum and they score in bunches. We can't let it snowball by playing into their hands by attempting too many jump shots we need to try and get to the rim each time down, especially if they are on a small run. We need to make sure we get to the rim or the free throw line," he said.
South Central travel to Sandusky St. Mary's (18-1), #1 in our poll, on Saturday night for what shapes up as an interesting non-conference match-up. Seidel says they need to at least contain the Panthers Trenton Zimmerman. "He is very experienced. He is 6'6", he is athletic, he does everything well, and that is part of the problem. It is not a black hole when he gets it. He runs the floor really well, he shares it really well. He rebounds really well, he alters and blocks shots, he steps out and shoots it, he has a face up game, he has a great right hand hook, so he does a lot really well. He is the center of them and we have to key on him," he said.
Published 2/11/16
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South Central Needs a Win
South Central clings to a one game lead on New London and Western Reserve in the Firelands Conference standings and a win over visiting Plymouth on Friday night is a must for the Trojans.
After a (58-51) set back to New London on the road last Friday, the Trojans (13-5,9-2) responded to beat Mapleton (78-69) last Saturday. Coach Brett Seidel says they were good on offense against the Mounties, but not so much on the other end of the floor. "Against Mapleton I thought we were pretty fluid offensively and shared the ball and because of that shots went down. We weren't great defensively. Obviously we are still trying to correct the box outs and the defensive rebounding. Overall, it was good to get that taste out of our mouth," he said.
With three games left, Crestview and Western Reserve are the others, in conference play, Seidel says they have to have great focus in each game. "We are approaching every game as if it is a championship game right now. We need to approach it with that kind of effort and attitude. Our approach in practice right now is to try and keep the kids hungry and fresh," he said.
Plymouth (5-12,5-6) has likely pulled the two biggest upsets in the conference this season and one of those was when they beat South Central (65-56) at their place. Seidel says to avoid that happening again they have to play their game. "Don't take anything away from them, they shot it well, played well, played hard, and were more physical and hungry, ball pursuit, conditioning, all phases of the game really," he told Swanonsports.com on Wednesday, "At the same time I don't think we were intentional with anything we did that night. As we got behind we panicked and stated doing things that were out of character. Just being more intentional with what we do playing the way we are supposed to play."
Plymouth had one of their games where they didn't play that well on Tuesday night when they lost to Mansfield Christian (54-29) at their place. Seidel says the Big Red tries to get the ball into the hands of their three point shooters. "I watched them (Tuesday) night and most of their sets, for the most part, are trying to get their three point shooters a shot, Collins and Chaffins and a few others are pretty deadly from out there. We have to make sure they are chased off their spot and have to put it on the floor," he said.
Published 2/04/16
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South Central Can Put New London on the Ropes
Firelands Conference leader South Central can not put New London on the canvas with a win on Friday night, but they can inflict a standing eight count.
The Trojans (12-4,8-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, could put Wildcats down by three with four league games to play.
Last Friday, South Central laid waste to Monroeville (86-30) in a conference game. Coach Brett Seidel says his kids were ready to prove that a 45 point win earlier over Eagles was no fluke. "I really couldn't figure out what they would do. They played well and beat Plymouth, they played with Edison, they played with Western, competed with Clyde, and had a bad loss to Crestview in there too. I really couldn't figure out what we were going to get or what we were going to see," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "I kind of challenged the kids, you know, we beat them by 45 early in the year, so I kind of challenged the kids that it wasn't going to be that way. The kids responded and really shared the ball and played well on the defensive end. We had a 50-14 lead at the half."
The next night, the Trojans traveled to Mansfield Christian to play the improving Flames. Seidel says they did enough to come away with the win (57-48) on the road. "We have to play at Mansfield Christian against a very good team, well coached team and a tough place to play. I thought we were sloppy with the basketball, that was due in part to their defense, but I thought we were sloppy with the ball handling at the end of the game, but we were able to close out a victory there too," he said.
One of the Trojans key wins this year was over New London (57-51) about a month ago. Seidel says against the Wildcats you have to make sure you recognize what defense they are in. "They change defenses so much. They have about eight different defenses from 1-3-1 to 2-3 to man-to-man full court to man-to-man in the half court, diamond. They throw a little bit of everything at you defensively. Being able to be organized is the key. It always seems that Tom's kids are never out of position either. As much as they change defenses, you would think one would get lost, but they just don't they are always in the right position. Playing at their place is going to make it even tougher," said Seidel.
New London (9-4,6-3) shares second with Western Reserve. Even though a Trojan win would but them in good shape, Seidel is not about to count his chickens before they are hatched. "We are kind of just taking it one game at a time right now. We have six games to play, four on the road, and two at home, and five of those are league games. We have five steps. We don't want to make three steps and share the league, or win the league by one. We want to take it one game at a time and make it a five step process and hopefully go over there and play well on Friday night," he said.
Published 1/29/16
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South Central has to Dig Deep
South Central has worked all season to get to the top of the Firelands Conference standings and now the goal is to work just as hard to stay there.
Coach Brett Seidel knows they have a target on their backs now and it is about having the right mental approach. "I think we have had that target since the beginning with what we had back on paper and our experience. So, not a whole lot has changed other than we are on top now rather than just predicted to be on top. This is new territory for us, so we are just trying to figure it all out. The mindset that we need to approach practice each day is our challenge right now," he said.
Basketball is a long season, 13 weeks of regular season play, and then the tournament. Seidel says they want to keep fresh. "Every season when you hit late January and it is a grind. The weather is bad, it is cold out. You are in your third month of practices. The kids know everything and you are trying to fine tune things are get better in rebounding, or whatever it is. It is kind of a grind on the kid's mind. They sometimes need a day off every once in while. We have shortened practices to try and do what we can to remain fresh and hungry," said Seidel.
Monroeville (2-12,1-7) is at South Central (10-4,7-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball poll in the small school division, on Friday night in Firelands Conference play. Seidel stresses this is a different team than they beat (79-34) at Quicken Loans Arena on December 1. "They are doing a lot of different things than they were in December. They are playing man to man now. They are playing less kids now. I don't know how many kids he played at the "Q," I'm guessing 15. So, he is playing less kids. He is playing half court man a lot more. There is a little more discipline in their offense," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "Before they shot a lot of threes. They shoot less threes now. They are starting to take care of the basketball a little better. They have played good against good teams. They played with Western. They played with Edison, beat Plymouth, and we know we are in for a challenge."
The Trojans then travel to Mansfield Christian (6-5) on Saturday night for a non-conference game. Seidel knows it will be a tough one. "You can always count on coach Kurtz to figure things out by the end of the year. He lost some very important pieces to his team from last year to injury and transfer, but now he is starting to get them to play the way he wants them to play. They are playing really well. I saw them at St. Peter's and I saw them against New London and they are very good," he said.
Published 1/21/16
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First Place Goes to South Central
After trailing by 10 points after the first quarter, South Central outscored Western Reserve (41-25) the rest of the way and they downed the Rough Riders (49-43) Thursday night to take first place to themselves in the Firelands Conference.
South Central (9-4,6-1) cut the Western lead to seven at the half (28-21) and took the lead on a Michael Ponchel basket and free throw (34-31) with 4:27 to play in the third quarter.
"They came out shooting it well. We had some ill advised shots I will call them. I thought we got in a hurry and their pressure really got to us in the first half. I thought in the second half we came out and we were tough. We were tougher and still ran our offense through their pressure. I don't feel like either team shot the ball well, but I would say that is kudos to both defenses. I felt like it was a grind it out like game. Very tournament like. Very happy for my kids, hoping to build on this," said South Central coach Brett Seidel.
Freshman point guard Jaret Griffith scored 11 points for Western in the first quarter as the Rough Riders took at (18-8) lead, but he didn't score after that. "They just turned up the intensity for a physicality standpoint. They turned it up a notch in how they were defending us, getting into us. We really didn't rise to the challenge. If you look at the second half, they go an get it on the offensive glass. In their drives to the basket we don't match their physicality on on the ball defense and they get it to the rim. You go down to our end and they get physical with us and we can't get it to the front of the rim. On top of it every shot we take is one and out. We aren't going and getting it off the glass like they were. It just comes down to they had more will power. It wasn't that we didn't play hard. It wasn't that we didn't execute," said Western Reserve coach Chris Sheldon.
Ponchel led South Central with 18 points, while Brayden Wilhelm added 15 markers.
There weren't a lot of easy shots in the game and the Trojans shot just 30 percent from the field and Western Reserve 32 percent. "We were aggressive, but we still missed layups. We still got our wide open threes that we like and didn't knock those down either. I think there is still room to build, still room to improve," said Seidel.
With the defense played by both sides Thursday night there were a lot of lose balls and Sheldon says it seemed that the Trojans got to most of those. "At the end of the day to win big basketball games it comes down to how physical you are and do want to go make those 50/50 plays. They did, we didn't," he told Swankonsports.com after the game Thursday, "It is not like you look at the stat sheet and they are making a lot of threes, which they are known for doing. They literally took at drove it to the rim and that is how they beat us. It is a combination that they are more physical that us, they are stronger than us, and it shows. We are still underclassmen. They are a majority of upperclassmen, and that is the difference in winning basketball games on a big stage."
Leading (43-38) with just over a minute left in the game, the Trojans made five of seven free throws down the stretch. "We had some kids step up and make some free throws late, but not early. I think throughout the game the ball didn't go in the basket basically for either team, but for us especially I thought. We struggled from the field and from the line. I am very happy with our kids effort. They were very tough in the second half," said Seidel.
Published 1/14/16
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A Win Gives South Central the Lead
South Central and Western Reserve, the Firelands Conference co-leaders, face each other Thursday night in Greenwich with first place to the winner.
Both schools had been unbeaten in league play until last week when South Central lost (65-56) to Plymouth on Tuesday and Western Reserve lost (52-50) to Norwalk St. Paul on Friday.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says they realize the magnitude of this game. "We both stubbed our toe last week, taking nothing away from Plymouth and St. Paul, but obviously those were not games we were expected to lose. In the same sense I don't think anyone in our league is out of it yet. New London is playing really well too. (Thursday) night is a big game," he said.
Western Reserve (8-3,5-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is about seven points from being unbeaten. Behind freshmen point guard Jared Griffith, Seidel says they are a team that will stretch the defense. "They have a very balanced team and they also make shots. They are very hard to guard because they can spread you out," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "They have a very good player in the freshman, who can do a lot of different things with the basketball in his hands. They are hard to guard. We just have to make sure that we never let them get comfortable and box out on every possession."
Western
Reserve has always prided itself in its defense and Seidel says they play
good defense and they are getting better at it. "They are a good defensive
team the they have progressively gotten more physical and tougher. Chris
(Sheldon) has done a great job, like he always has in toughening the kids
up. They are playing very nard nosed defense right now, so it is going to
be a challenge," he said.
One would think that this game is going to be pretty close and
Seidel says they are going to have to make shots under pressure and they
need to rebound the Western misses in order to have a chance of capturing
first place. "We have to remain disciplined and box out. I think second
chance points are key. They take jump shots and if they don't make those
jump shots we have to make sure we don't give them a second opportunity.
This may sound very simple, but we are going to have to make some shots.
When those good shots come we are going to have to make some shots," he
said.
Published 1/14/16
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Trojans Play Their Biggest Game of the Year
The great John Wooden once said "Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do" and that is a lesson that the South Central Trojans need to learn this week.
On Tuesday night, they suffered an upset to Plymouth (65-56) in a Firelands Conference, Plymouth had won only once going into the game, and that loss dropped them from a share of first place in the conference with Western Reserve.
They can't get that night back, but what they must do is play their best game on Friday night against the emerging Crestview Cougars.
South Central coach Brett Seidel says the fact of the matter is Plymouth was the better team on Tuesday night and now they need to get back to their game. "We are ready to get back on the floor. Obviously, Plymouth played a very good game and I would like to just credit them. I can make excuses all I want, but the bottom line is we got out played," he said.
The Trojans (7-4,4-1) are at Crestview (6-4,3-2) on Friday night. Crestview is much improved this year and Seidel says they are going to make things very tough for them with their ability to make three point shots and especially their press. "Anytime you play at Crestview it is a challenge. It just seems like the acoustics there are louder than anywhere else. I know it is going to be a loud environment. I know it is going to be a fast paced tempo. It is going to be chaos," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "I have never seen a team play as hard as Crestview plays. They are relentless in their pursuit of the ball. If their shots are going down it is going to be a long night."
When you play a team that presses all over the floor for four quarters you are going to have turnovers. Seidel says the big deal come Friday night against Crestview is what kind of turnovers they commit and how that affects the Cougars scoring chances. "We talk about live turnovers and dead turnovers. When you turn it over live it is turning it over for layups while the play is still live. A dead turnover is throwing it out of bounds or traveling. We just can't afford to snowball it. Once we make one mistake we can't compound it. Fouling them on an and one and then turning it over again. The combination of mistakes in a row is what we are trying to avoid. A team that plays like this and plays as hard as they do you are going to make mistakes," said Seidel.
Published 1/08/15
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South Central Not a finished Product
South Central is experienced and talented, but they still have a lot of improvement to make if they are to become a solid basketball team.
Coach Brett Seidel says they sometimes try to be too good and that gets them into trouble.
The Trojans lost (62-50) to unbeaten Edison last Wednesday and Seidel says they let the Chargers go on two extended runs in the game and that cost them a chance to win. "When you play teams like that you have to do all of the little things to have a shot. We tried to do they great plays still and didn't value the basketball. We had 11 turnovers in the first half. Some of that is due to them. They are very athletic and speed you up and turn you over, but some of that was just careless decision making," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "It was a game of runs. They made a 9-0 run at the end of the half to go up five and they extend that with another seven, eight point run to begin the second half. Those two stretches there cost us the game. We have to learn how to close the half and open the half a little better."
South Central (5-3) plays in the Seneca East Holiday tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday. In their first game they play Tiffin Calvert (4-1) and then will play either Seneca East or Crestline in the second game.
Seidel says Calvert will be a big challenge for them with some athletic kids that can play they game. "They have two all district players. One is very good. His name is Ritzler, which is a pretty common name for Calvert. They have about five or six guys that can play basketball. They are very skilled. They are 4-1. They just recently lost to Ottawa Hills, which is their only loss. We have seen them live, we have seen them on film, and they still try to do the same things. They run some motion and some 2-2-1 and some man to man. They do a nice job," said Seidel.
With the expansion to a 22-game schedule there seem to be more of these holiday tournaments. This is the second year in a row the Trojans have played at Seneca East and Seidel believes it is a plus. "It is a good experience for the kids. We played there last year and won it. The competition has stiffened a little bit this year with Calvert coming in and I'm hoping for us to play well (Tuesday) night," he said.
Published 12/29/15
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South Central Beats Lucas; Prepares for unbeaten Edison
Bryden Wilhelm poured in seven threes on his way to a game high 25 points as South Central drilled Lucas (62-44) in non-conference play on Tuesday night.
Now, they travel to Edison, of the Sandusky Bay Conference, for one of their toughest challenges of the year, on Wednesday night.
South Central led (13-2) after the first quarter and (29-10) at halftime on the way to the win over Lucas. Coach Brett Seidel says they played some sound basketball for about 24 minutes. "Taylor (Iceman) is doing a very nice job with them. They play very hard. They try to limit your possessions, which works against us, but I though our defensive intensity for three quarters was good. We kind of wavered in the fourth quarter a little bit. For three quarters I thought we played pretty good defense. Now, (Wednesday) we go to Edison and play a very talented, very athletic team," said Seidel.
That is now five wins in a row for the Trojans and Seidel says they do some good things, but they have to be a lot better. "We are finding ways to win, but we are still very inconsistent. We are still trying to make the fancy pass and not making the solid play yet, at all times I should say, we are doing it sometimes. We are shooting the ball well, but we are still trying to be too fancy with the ball," he told Swankonsports.com after the win over Lucas Tuesday, "We are still not great defensively at all times. We gave up 14 offensive rebounds (Tuesday) night and that's not a good thing. We have some things that need corrected, but there are also some positives."
Edison (4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Clyde (51-41) in Sandusky Bay Conference play on Tuesday night. Seidel says this is a very good team. "They have state tournament type athletes and 10 seniors, so they are very experienced. Their guards have played all four years. They harass you. They are very good on ball defenders. We will have our hands full (Wednesday) night," he said.
South Central (5-2) is pretty good too and Seidel says to stay in this game and have a chance to win they must be aggressive on offense and consistent on defense. "I think we just have to take it possession by possession and try to be aggressive. They do a lot as far as on the ball and denial and are aggressive. We have to attack that and make some shots and be ready to play defense on every possession for 32 minutes. I think if we do that we will be there in the end," he said.
Published 12/23/15
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South Central Must be Ready for Mapleton
South Central shares the Firelands Conference lead with Western Reserve after three games of the 14 game double round robin in conference play.
They play at home against Mapleton (1-6,0-3) in a conference game on Friday night.
The Trojans have won three straight games, all three in conference play, the last being over New London (58-51) on Saturday night. The Trojans shot only 32 percent from the field, but coach Brett Seidel says they found a way to win. "I think New London is a very good basketball team. They are very well coached and can mix defenses on you. That makes them hard on you. It is hard to get into a rhythm and once you get into a rhythm they switch defenses," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "They are very good at every single one of their defenses. So, to come out with a win when we are shooting only 32 percent from the field is a positive for us."
Last year, South Central got off to a slow start, just like this year when they lost to Mansfield St. Peter's (71-67) and Buckeye Central (44-43) on the first weekend, and a year ago they lost only three games the rest of the season. Seidel says they aren't thinking about streaks. "We are just concentrating right now on defense. Working on our shell drill and just trying to get better each day and hopefully the results take care of themselves," he said.
Mapleton has one of better players in the conference in junior guard Gage Barone. Seidel says he was a factor early in their loss to Rittman (72-45) on Tuesday. "We saw them (Tuesday) night actually, just got back with coach Durham. He scored their first 10 points on two threes and two pull up jumpers. The led 10-0 coming out of the gate against Rittman," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, "So, he is very good, but they have other pieces around him. Chase Davis is a very good athlete and causes some problems. It is a conference game, so it is going to be a tough game for us."
Published 12/16/15
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Trojans Beat Back New London
Brayden Wilhelm made three three pointers in the second half and South Central hung on to beat New London (58-51) in a Firelands Conference game on Saturday night in Greenwich.
Wilhelm led Trojan scorers with 14 and Michael Ponchel added 13 for the winners.
South Central (3-2,3-0) shares first place in the conference with Western Reserve, who beat Mapleton (71-42) on Saturday night.
Coach Brett Seidel says they were able to beat a very good team on a night they didn't play all that well. "We still shot 35 percent from the floor, 31 from three. I just don't feel like we played all that well, but I would have to say that's a credit to them and the frantic defense that they bring. They bring 2-2-1, 1-3-1, 2-3, man to man," he said.
After Wilhelm hit his second three in less than a minute the Trojans held a 13 point lead (40-27) with 2:46 left in the third quarter, but Seidel says they couldn't put the Wildcats away. "They are never out of it. We would get it up to 13 and they would hit a three. We would get up 13 and we turn it over two or three times and they are back in it," he said.
New London (2-2,1-2) closed the third by scoring the last six points to make it (40-33) after three. South Central took a (48-35) lead after another Wilhelm three with 5:20 left in the game, but New London coach Tom Howell called time out and implemented pressure all over the floor. "No offense to them, but I don't think a lot of it was the pressure, it was just decision making. We just threw it away. I don't think they actually made plays accept on a couple of missed shots, I thought that bothered us. When we were organized I thought we handled their pressure okay just the decisions late were awful," said Seidel.
South Central held a (54-47) lead with 2:28 left, but missed three straight free straight free throws in an attempt to put the game away. "We missed some free throws. I thought in the first half we had numerous very good looks form three and on layups and we did not make them. New London is so scrappy and they are going to scratch and claw and fight and that is a credit to Tom (Howell,)" said Seidel.
Ponchel made four of six free throws in the final 1:27 to clinch the win for the Trojans.
New London's Ryan Lane led all scorers with 18 points on the night. Nate Thomas chipped in with 11.
Published 12/12/15
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South Central Knows There is a Long road Ahead
After two wins in conference play last week, over Monroeville and Norwalk St. Paul, by at least 35 points each, South Central has taken the head in the Firelands Conference.
Well, if you go by halves that is. They are (2-0) and New London, Plymouth, and Western Reserve are (1-0) after wins last Friday.
South Central (2-2,2-0) plays at New London (2-0,1-0) in their only game of the week on Saturday.
They pretty mush destroyed Monroeville (79-34) and Norwalk St. Paul (70-43) in conference action last week, but coach Brett Seidel says he knows there are going to be a lot tougher games ahead. "We are not comfortable yet. We know the season ahead is rugged, especially this Saturday against a New London team that plays extremely hard. They are going to throw multiple defenses at us. We are going to have to be organized and ready," he said.
In three of its four games, South Central has been able to put the ball in the hole pretty efficiently. Seidel says they need to become better rebounders so they can get more shots. "I think you can't ever get good enough at rebounding and that is our biggest thing right now hitting the offensive glass. Being able to find and hit bodies, rather than just turning and watching the ball. The big problem we are seeing on film is we are just turning and watching the ball too much rather than tagging a body and pursuing the basketball. That is probably the main focus we are working on. Continuing the share the basketball is the other one," said Seidel.
Ryan Lane led New London in both of their wins last weekend with 20 against Crestview (70-60) and 22 more against Wellington (64-60) on Saturday.
Seidel says Lane is very good and he is not the Wildcats only scorer. He says they have a lot kids that can light it up. "Ryan Lane is really a very good player inside and out. He can do a lot of really good things off the dribble, off the catch, post you up, hits the glass on both ends. He is kind of a tweener, about a 6'3" kid, that causes match-up problems," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "(Coach) Tom (Howell) has his kid up as a freshman, he can play, he can make shots off the catch and off the dribble. They have kids that can score, they have a lot kids that can shoot the three, so we are going to have our hands full."
Published 12/09/15
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South Central Goes For Conference Lead
For many South Central is the favorite for the Firelands Conference boys' basketball title this year and they have gotten off to a good start in conference play.
After two tough losses in non-conference action to Mansfield St. Peter's (71-67) and Buckeye Central (44-43) last weekend. South Central enjoyed the opportunity of playing at Quicken Loans Arena, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Tuesday and blasting Monroeville (79-34) in a conference game.
Coach Brett Seidel says his kids were excited to play and had something to prove. "We talked last week about kids being resilient and bouncing back. I put a little more pressure on myself, but the kids did not. They went out and played loose, had fun, and had a good experience there at The "Q," he said.
The Trojans held Monroeville to 22 percent shooting from the field and Seidel says they did a good job of running their offense as well. "They don't press as much as they used too. They played a lot of match-up zone. I felt like our kids really shared the ball and were successful in finding the open man," he said.
South Central (1-2,1-0) plays at Norwalk St. Paul in a conference game on Friday night. It will be the Flyers first game of the season and Seidel knows for sure that St. Paul coach Mike Smith will have his team prepared. "Mike Smith is a coaching legend in our conference. He has been there a long time, he knows what to do, he knows what is coming. If you give Mike an ample amount of time to prepare he is going to have a really good game plan ready," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "That is what he has had. He has had three weeks to prepare for us. That is what they have been doing. So, I expect it to be a very tough game for us with us being on the road and them playing their first game at home and it being a conference game. It is going to be tough for us to go there and get a win."
This would be a key win the Trojans to get on the road when it comes the conference chance. Seidel says they have already proven the can win away from home. "We are still trying to feel our way through right now. We are starting to get there and find our identity and what things look like. Being able to go on the road to the "Q" and get a win boosted our confidence with playing on the road. It isn't our first game on the road and it is their first game, so that is to our advantage," he said.
Published 12/03/15
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South Central Needs Better Focus
South Central is the popular choice to win the Firelands Conference this year, but coach Brett Seidel is a little disappointed in what he has seen in preseason play and knows this have to get better in a hurry.
They host Mansfield St. Peter's and Buckeye Central, two pretty good teams too, in non-conference games on Friday and Saturday nights, and Seidel know they are going to need outstanding efforts if they are going to come out on top.
Seidel admits he as pretty unhappy with what he saw is scrimmage action last weekend. "We had kind of a rough weekend with our scrimmage. It didn't go as well as I thought we should have played. But, the kids are still working hard in practice and seem to be focused and some energy each day. I thought that we had progressed a little bit more than we had," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "I just didn't feel like we were engaged the entire time. We didn't share it as well as I'd like us to. Everything just seemed kind of forced."
The high school boys basketball season starts a week earlier on the calendar that it usually does and that means that Thanksgiving is the middle of that first week. Seidel says yes he is concerned about that when it comes to his troops. "Focus is a definite concern. You get a break Tuesday night through Friday. The kids are off school and their is family coming in and tends to keep you up later at night whether it be just with family or video games or whatever it may be. They think they can make up for the lack of sleep the next day because they don't have anything to wake up for. So, that is a definite concern," said Seidel.
Seidel didn't get into specifics, but he knows that this week is going to be a big challenge for the Trojans. "We know we are in for a rough weekend. We get the buzz saw right out of the gate with two very good programs coached very well," he said.
Published 11/24/15
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South Central Firelands Conference Favorite?
Plymouth has been the dominate power in the Firelands Conference the last couple of years, but the Big Red graduated quite a bit and perhaps South Central, the runner up last year, is the likely front runner this year.
The Trojans only conference losses last year came to Plymouth.
Coach Brett Seidel says they have excepted that favorites tag. "With the number of guys returning for us and the experience that we have and the numbers with experience that we have I would say we would probably be the favorite," he said.
There is some experience back for the Trojans and Seidel feels they have grown since last year. "They have had to grow and mature with year more of age, but mentally they are also showing growth. We lost some pretty good pieces last year to graduation with Steven Goetz and Dallas Yost. Yost is playing college ball and he was a pretty big part of what we were last year. So, I was kind of unsure who was going to fill what role and who was going to step up," he told Swankonsports.com, "Over the summer we saw glimpses of great balance. So far this preseason we have taken some strides. We scrimmaged at Madison with a couple of bigger schools there and we competed. We are still missing one of our good players who broke his foot in football."
Yost ran the point last year for South Central, but Seidel feels that Hunter Adams can step into that role this year for the Trojans. "We did have Hunter Adams play the point the year prior when Dallas was here, Dallas's junior year, but we thought that Dallas was a better fit for us and what we wanted to do last year. So, I think Hunter will slide into that spot pretty well. Dallas scored a lot for us too. I feel we have enough around Hunter that can put the ball in the basket," he said.
In terms of offense, Seidel says this is a bunch that can run the floor and he thinks that is going to be a real key for them. "That is going to be very important for us this year. I feel that most of the guys that we have, the experience and skill level that we have, we should be able to run and get out and beat the shell defenses down the floor. When you get into the half court you do have to execute perfectly and wait for a good shot rather than run the floor and get an easy shot," he said.
Maybe the biggest key, according to Seidel, is going to be shot selection. He says with a lot of scorers that is sometimes a difficult process. "With six guys coming back that are able to put the ball in the basket the want to share the basketball is kind of the biggest piece. If we share the ball I feel like we can get a good shot every time down, but when there are six guys that fell like they can score there are less passes and they are ready to take their shot because they don't know if it is going to come back. That is my biggest thing right now if we can share the basketball and not care who gets credit and play unselfish I think that we will have a decent year, but if we aren't able to do that, and we are trying to get ours, it go to be a long one," said Seidel.
Published 11/18/15
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South Central faces First Place St. Paul
South Central has pulled some wins out of the fire this year, but they are going to have to play their best magic trick this season Saturday night as they travel to Whitney Field to take on Firelands Conference leading Norwalk St. Paul.
Last week, the Trojans (3-5,3-2) lost to Western Reserve (34-21) in a game that was tied at 21 after the third quarter. Coach Wayne Hinkle says that was one they could have had and let slip a way. "That was one that we just let get away a little bit. We didn't finish it off. We had some tough plays on some on side kicks that we didn't field very well. We gave them too many opportunities and we didn't take care of our opportunities to win the game," said Hinkle.
St. Paul (7-1,5-0), #2 in the Swankoonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, is very good again this season and they have not been challenged really in a conference game. Hinkle says if you are going to stay in the game with them you have to make plays when the opportunity is there. "We talked this week about really playing hard and playing together and hanging onto the ball the best you can. Anytime we get an opportunity, if they give us one, or we make one on own, we have to take advantage of that," he said.
St. Paul is very good on offense and outstanding on defense. However, Hinkle says the thing that strikes him about the Flyers is the expectation level of the program. "John (Livengood) has been there for a long time and has a program installed and kids know what to expect. They have been good so people want to come and play," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "You know what you are getting yourself into when you go there. You are going to have to play hard. You are going to have to go at it and you have to compete if you want to play."
Published 10/22/15
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South Central and Western Reserve Both Want to be Physical
Western Reserve and South Central both want to run the ball and be physical and it will be the team that does that the best that will win when they meet in Firelands Conference action in Greenwich on Friday night.
South Central (3-4,3-1,) along with Monroeville, have been the biggest surprises in the Firelands this year and last week's (33-13) win at Mapleton was likely the Trojans best effort of the season so far. "We played really well, especially the second half. We came out and played really good defense and the offense clicked. It was fund to win an easy one or an easier one anyway," said coach Wayne Hinkle.
When it comes to adjustments last week, Hinkle says it was more mental for them. He says the kids had to believe in what they were doing. "We tried to get kids to understand that what we were doing was gong to work, it will work, and you have to do what we want you to do. That was the big thing. I think we relaxed a bit in the second quarter. In the first quarter we controlled it and we came out in the second half and played the game like we started out," he said.
Western Reserve (2-5,2-2) is also coming off what was their best effort of the season, a (43-14) win over Plymouth last week. Hinkle says they want to be physical and that's what the Trojans want to be too. "They are big up front and they have been in the few years I have been associated with the Firelands Conference," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "They have big, thick offensive lineman that really get after you and they want to run the ball. We want to do that too, so it will be whoever is the most physical again this week is the one that comes out on top."
Published 10/14/15
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South Central Doing the Best they Can
South Central, despite numbers problems, has done a pretty good job this season and they are just one game behind the co-leaders in Firelands Conference.
They lost to one of those leaders, Monroeville, (20-6) in a conference game last week. Coach Wayne Hinkle says they had some breakdowns in the red zone. "We just couldn't finish things off. We drove the ball. We turned it over twice inside the 9-yard-line and once inside the 15. So, we moved it, we just couldn't finish things off and score the points," he said.
It was their first conference loss after two thrilling wins and Hinkle says he never faults the effort of his kids. "They do a good job. We are still short on numbers a little bit. We are playing 13, 14 guys and that is about it. I know there are other teams that are in that boat also. It just seems that is also we can get out there right now. They are playing really hard and you really feel bad for them when things don't go like you want them to go," said Hinkle.
South Central (2-4,2-1) plays at Mapleton (3-3,2-1), a (34-27) winner in overtime against Crestview last week, in a Firelands Conference game ion Friday night. Mapleton has a lot of young players, but Hinkle says they also have some experience in the trenches. "They are pretty decent. Their older guys are their linemen. If you have a good offensive line there are a lot of things you can do and their offensive line is pretty good," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "The skilled kids aren't as good as they were last year, but when you have that really good offensive line your skilled kids can be a little weaker. They are playing well, playing hard, and they are doing really well over there."
Published 10/08/15
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South Central Finding a Way
You would be hard pressed to find a football team that has played back to back exciting games like the South Central Trojans have these last two weeks.
After a one point (31-30) double overtime win over Crestview, the Trojans scored twice in the last three minutes to beat Plymouth (27-23) last Friday.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says it has been heart pounding and something her hasn't experienced in his more than 20 years of coaching. "Not quite like this and if I have it has been a while. It has been really nice to get those two wins those last two weeks and keep things on a roll for us here at South Central," he said.
It has not always been the intended starters doing the job either. Hinkle says they have had to have some kids step up and they have done that. "We have had some injuries and we have had some other reasons for kids to be out and the kids have stepped up these two weeks and really played hard and made some things happen," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "Had a backup quarterback last week, he gets maybe 25, 30 plays during the week, and he stepped up and played well last Friday. Kids are really doing a nice job filling in. We really preach next man up and you go with what you've got."
South Central (2-3,2-0), in a share of first place in Firelands Conference with Norwalk St. Paul and Monroeville, plays host to the Eagles (4-1,2-0) on Friday night. Hinkle says Monroeville is playing some excellent football right now. "They are not a bad team. They run the ball really well and play hard. They are off to a really good start. To be 4-1 you have to be doing something right. They have good kids and good coaching. They are on a good roll right now," said Hinkle.
In order to slow down the Eagles, Hinkle says they have to contain that run game. "They want to be physical a little and they want to run the ball. When you get those two things together they do want to smash a little bit. They do have some good skilled kids. They have a couple of them that run the ball hard. They are just a good football team right now," he said.
Published 9/30/15
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South Central Wants to Catch Some Momentum
After losing their first three games of the season, South Central won their Firelands Conference opener, in dramatic fashion, last week, and they hope they can get a boost from that.
Hurt by injuries early in the season, South Central lost all of their non-conference games, the closest of which was a 14 points loss to Rittman (34-20) on week two.
Last week, coach Wayne Hinkle called for a two point conversion after the Trojans scored in double overtime and his team beat Crestview (31-30) on the opening week of conference play. "You have to put it in their hands and they have to execute the play. You have a play you have worked on all year long, since early practice anyway. They came through and executed it and we won the football game. That's nice to get that win," said Hinkle.
High school football is a lot about momentum and Hinkle says they hop to get a boost from what happened last week. "That's what we are hoping. That's what you always look for, you are hoping a win will do that for you," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "After the three big loses that we had early it was big to get that win. Hopefully, that will get something started for us. we have another league game coming up that's important. We hope to just build on that win and go from here."
This week, the Trojans (1-3,1-0) take their act to Plymouth to face the Big Red (1-3,0-1) in a conference game. Hinkle says he expects the Big Red to try and be physical with them. "They seem to have brought things in a little bit, want to run the ball a little more and be physical it looks like to me from what I have seen so far. It will be a challenge for us. We will just have to buckle our chin straps and get ready to go for just a good high school football game," he said.
Published 9/22/15
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South Central has to get Healthy, Execute Better
South Central has started the season with two losses and they need to find a way to execute better if they are going to win week three at Cardington.
That is where their current coach Wayne Hinkle coached for a long time.
Rittman beat the Trojans (34-20) last week and Hinkle says they have been hurt by injuries and a lack of execution. "We were short a couple of kids because of injuries. When we have low numbers like we do and we lose a couple of kids that hurts, but I thought our kids played hard. We are just not reaching that level that we need to be at yet. We really need to pick it up a little bit more and play a little bit harder and just make some things happen that we are not doing at this moment," he said.
Week one, Seneca East outscored South Central (55-28) and Hinkle thought they took some baby steps last week. "I think we improved a little bit, but was are not improving as much as we want to. Again it makes hard when you have a couple of starters out," he told Swankonsports.com, "The kids are wanting to improve. They want things to happen for them, but they are not going out there and making the plays. We need to have somebody step up and make something happen for us."
South Central (0-2) has been struggling to find football success over the years, but Hinkle says they are not about to give up. "Football is just like life and when you get some success maybe you are able to duplicate that a little bit more. We have had some opportunities to have some success the last two weeks it just hasn't happened for us. We are going to keep plugging away and going after it, keep coaching the kids up, and hopefully that will show up in a win for us," said Hinkle.
Coaching against his old team, is a little different? Hinkle admits that is. "It is a little more exciting. Maybe a I get a little more intense. I did spend nine years there are head football coach and 14 overall as a teacher and principal at that school district. I have a lot friends and ex players that come out, so there is a little extra incentive there. The kids have no tie to that. We need to improve this week and go out and give everything we've got and at the end see what happens," said Hinkle.
As far as execution is concerned, against Cardington (1-1) Hinkle says they are going to see a lot of the same things they have been seeing. "It's the same things we have been seeing the last couple of weeks. Their offense is going to be in a spread. On defense, they are probably going to be buttoned up on us a little bit to stop the run. We are going to see a lot of the same things we have been seeing. It's good football down that way. I coached down there 20 of my 25 years and they are going to come out ready to go," he said.
Published 9/07/15
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South Central Cautiously Optimistic
South Central made some progress last season on the gridiron winning three times in Wayne Hinkle's first year as the Trojan's head football coach.
Hinkle, the former high school principal in Greenwich, says his kids kept the noses to the grindstone during preseason camp. "We have worked hard and we have gotten better every step of the way. With the first scrimmage we set a base. We were better for the second one and improved for that third one. We are looking to work on things this week and do the same thing for week one," he said.
In 2014, the Trojans wanted to run the ball first. Hinkle feels to win high school games you have to have a running game, but he says they may be able to open it up a little more this fall. "We are looking at things. We are still going to run the ball. To be able to win you have to be able to run the ball," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "We have kind of looked at some other things and opened it up a little bit and may be more multi dimensional than just running the ball."
One of the teams South Central beat last year was Seneca East (39-24) and that is who they play in their opener on Friday night at home. Hinkle says the Tigers will be out for revenge and they have some athletes they will have to deal with. "We kind of got them last year, so I expect them to come out and try and get that win back. They are a big team. They have some good size and some nice athletes. We are looking for them to be just as competitive as they have always been," he said.
Published 8/25/15
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South Central Moving Forward
South Central is trying to get out of the bottom division of the Firelands Conference and looks like they are making some strides toward that end.
The Trojans were (3-7) overall and (2-5) in the conference a year ago.
Coach Wayne Hinkle, now in his second year, says he thinks they are going to be better prepared for the season than they were a year ago. "I'm real happy with what we have seen. For one thing we have got our numbers up a little bit. We are headed in the right direction anyway with 27 this year. The kids have come back and worked really hard and actually retained a lot of what we taught them last year, so that has put us ahead a little bit of where we were. Enthusiasm and hard work is really paying off for us at this time of year," said Hinkle.
South Central scrimmaged Lucas on Monday. Hinkle says they have grown some more because of that scrimmage. "We look at that first scrimmage as just setting our base, where are we at? Where are we at this time? We know what we have to do to improve. The practices this week that intensity has picked up a little bit after that scrimmage. I think we are making some nice strides for the next one," he said.
There are more numbers this year than last, but the Trojans are still a team that can't afford injuries. Hinkle says they suffered due to those injuries in 2014, but they might benefit a little this year. "It is football and there are going to be some injuries. Last year was really bad because we had bad injuries to our good kids and that is tough. You don't like bad injuries to anybody, but when it happens to two of your top 11, two of your top five, that really hurts you," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "I have to say one thing last year we came back and won two games after losing those kids and playing with 18 kids. They really did well last year, learned a lot. What is helping us this year is those freshmen and sophomores that played last year are now sophomores and juniors. That year of experience and maturity really helps."
South Central kicks off the season on August 28 against Seneca East in non-conference play.
Published 8/14/15
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South Central Must Play Well on Both Ends
South Central plays Buckeye Central for a ticket to the district tournament next week in the division four sectional finals at Norwalk High School on Friday night.
The Trojans (18-5), runners-up in the Firelands Conference, #4 in the final Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, hammered Lucas (75-43) in a semi-final game on Wednesday.
Coach Brett Seidel thought they put the hammer down when they had too. "We got off to a fast start. We kind of let them hang around at the end of the first with a couple of easy buckets. It was important to get off to a fast start and we did that," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "They had been hanging around with everyone they had been playing, including a very good Hillsdale team. They were down seven with a couple of minutes to go against them. It was important not only for us to start fast, but finish and try to deliver the knockout and I thought we did that early in the second half, in the third quarter, we did that."
Buckeye Central (15-8) likewise handled Danbuy Lakeside (61-29) on Wednesday. Seidel says they have been tested during their regular season schedule. "They are one of the better teams we have played all around all year. They play in a great league, the N10 is very competitive, top to bottom. I know they have played a great schedule and been very competitive and winning in that schedule. We know the task at and hand is very tough, but we are going to try and come and play our best basketball," he said.
In order to score against the Bucks, Seidel says they are going to have to be able to handle some contact. "They are very well coached and they play defense in a physical manner. They apply very, very physical ball pressure. You have to work for every shot that you get. It's a tough task and it's a tall order for us. I'm hoping that the kids rise to the challenge," he said.
South Central must be able to defend Friday night and Seidel says they need to be able to run their offense to the degree that they can get good shots. "We have to contain Wurm and Loy. The other thing is trying to execute offensively against their tough defense. Against their hard nosed defense we are going to have to get some shots that are makeable for us. I think rebounding in the biggest key at both ends of the floor," said Seidel.
Published 3/06/15
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Lady Trojans and Lady Tigers in Districts
South Central, who advanced to the district final last year, faces Seneca East in the division four district semi-finals on Thursday night at Shelby High School.
South Central (24-0), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com girls' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Buckeye Central (79-50) in the sectional title game last Saturday. They also downed Crestview (60-49) to win an outright Firelands Conference title last Thursday.
Coach Becky Hintz says they are at the top of their game and feeling pretty good about it. "My girls are playing really well right now. They get along so well on an off the court and I think that is a big part of our success," she said.
Seneca East (18-5) is paced by Northern 10 Athletic Conference leading scorer Seina Adachi. Hintz says she does it all. "They are a very solid team. Of course, they have Adachi, who is a very good player. She can handle the ball well. She is just a great all around player. We have to make sure we key in on her and be the best we can defensively," she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday.
Having played, and beaten, Crestview twice this year with their explosive scorer Renee Stimpert, Hintz says they will approach Seneca East much the same way. "Honestly I believe they are a lot like Crestview. She is the same type of player as Stimpert. We just have to do the best we can defensively. It's not going to be an easy game by any means, so we just have to be able to play our best game," she said.
South Central beat Seneca East (81-75) in a regular season game.
Published 3/05/15
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South Central has to do Things Better
South Central finished second in the Firelands Conference this year and has enjoyed its best season in a number of years, but they need to get back to their mid-season form if they are to be successful in the tournament.
The postseason for the Trojans begins Wednesday night with a division four sectional semi-final game against Lucas at Norwalk High School.
They were able to break a two game losing steak with a (54-50) win over Crestview in their final regular season game last Friday. Still coach Brett Seidel says they could have done a lot of things better. "I didn't think we played particularly well, but as always that has a lot to do with the other team. I think Crestview is playing better. They played well that night. They are very big and long and athletic and they were physical that night. We had trouble getting to the rim on them. We took a few more threes than we would like to take. In the very end we were able to execute down the stretch and come away with a win," he said.
Lucas (4-16) seems to be a couple of plays from maybe twice as many wins and Seidel says they are playing as well now as they have all season. "He has them playing very competitive basketball. I have watched them a few times now and they are playing well and competing well. They are in all of the games they are playing. Their record is deceiving," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "They were actually only down seven with a few minutes to go against Hillsdale and Hillsdale is having a great year. So, we know what we are in for. It is not going to be any cake walk. Obviously the last time we played them it wasn't anyway. We had to make free throws down the stretch to beat them the first time we played them."
South Central (17-5), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Lucas (55-48) last month. However, Seidel says they have to be a lot better on Wednesday night. "First of all we didn't make shots. We didn't execute defensively real well with what we talked about and what was involved in the scouting report. Obviously the Gerich kid is very good and we let him go and he did whatever he wanted to do. In the second half we would push it out to 13, 14 points and we could not continue with that. They would get a bucket and just hang around and before we knew it, it was down to one point or whatever it was. Just execution at both ends of the floor and finishing around the hoop. Shots we usually make, we didn't make," said Seidel.
Published 3/04/15
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South Central Must refocus
It has been an outstanding year for South Central this season, only loosing five times, but two of those losses have come in their last two games to Plymouth and Sandusky St. Mary's.
The Big Bed shredded them (68-50) to prevent the Trojans from a chance at sharing the Firelands Conference title and then Monday night Sandusky St. Mary's rallied to beat them (83-77) in a non-conference contest.
Coach Brett Seidel says things have still be pretty positive at practice this week. "It has been a tough week on us. I don't feel like my kids are down on themselves. We tried to explain to them that we lost to two very good teams, the top two teams in the district. I felt we had a chance to win against St. Mary's. Overall, our kids aren't completely down on themselves, we have accomplished a lot. This Friday is very import to us to get back on the right track playing against a team that is playing very well right now," he said.
South Central (16-5,11-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Crestview (6-15,5-8) in a conference game. The Cougars are coming wins over Lucas (51-39) on Monday and Western Reserve (62-48) last Friday. Seidel says the Cougars are not a team they can look past and beat. "They are big, they are athletic, they rebound at both ends really well. They are coming off of a win and they have sprinkled in some wins with the losses they have had as well. They have been right in some games including a loss to Plymouth that they were up for part of the game, so we know the challenge at hand," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "This is the most important game to us right now because it is the next one. That is how we have been throughout the season. We are not overlooking them. We are trying not to back into the tournament, trying to get some momentum going."
In pointing out some of the things the Trojans need to do in order to get back on the winning track Seidel chose to concentrate on defense. He says they must defend the post better and be better rebounders. "We didn't defend the post real well either night. I thought that both teams were able to catch it deep and obviously Crestview is big and athletic as well. So, preventing them from getting deep post touches is vital for us. Rebounding the basketball we didn't do that very well in either game. We drill that everyday in practice, but we are trying to reinforce that you have to discipline yourself to box out on every shot. Those two things are going to be vital for us to be successful defensively," he said.
Published 2/27/15
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Shot Selection and Rebounding Keys For South Central
South Central trails Plymouth by a game in the Firelands Conference standings and they can move a share of first place if they can beat the Big Red in Greenwich on Friday night.
South Central (16-3,11-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, has enjoyed an outstanding season. Coach Brett Seidel says they have played some excellent ball coming into the game. "The last time going into playing Plymouth we had won eight in a row and it is the same this time we have won eight in a row again leading into Plymouth, so it is a big game," he said.
In the first meeting Plymouth won (77-58) at their place. Seidel says Plymouth was a big part of their sub par performance, but they also need to show a little more patience on offense. "We did play poorly the first time, but I would like to think it was as a result of them and their defense and rebounding. They are a very good team and have very few weaknesses, so as far as pinpointing one thing that we need to do, or can't do, to win this game there really isn't just one," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "We are just going to have to play a complete game at both ends of the floor. That being said we played a very fast game the last time we played them, taking a lot of one pass shots. Obviously with Tyrell (Edmiston) underneath you are one shot and done. We have to try and make them guard us a little longer than we did the last time."
Not getting behind by a bunch early might be key for the Trojans and Seidel says they have to compete on the boards with the Big Red. "I think if you can limit their second shot opportunities and get a few of their own that will help in handing around. I think if you hang around I think your mentality changes because their is a big mental side to it with as good as they are and as many games as they have won and the team that they lost to. So, it is a huge mental side to be able to stay with them," he said.
Plymouth (18-1,12-0), #2 in our poll, would clinch an undisputed title with a win over South Central, repeating what they did last year. The expectations put some pressure on Plymouth, but Seidel says they know how to handle it. "I would like to think the pressure is on them. They were the unanimous favorite. That was decided by everybody and anybody you talked to. The thing is they have four guys that have at least three years of experience. They have three four year lettermen (Edmiston, Bailey, Bebee) and Collins is a three year lettermen. So, they have a ton of experience and they a ton experience in big games. I don't think they really feel it, or look at it, as pressure," said Seidel.
Published 2/20/15
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South Central Can Accomplish Some Things
A win over Crestview Thursday night can give South Central a couple of things, win an outright Firelands Conference girls' basketball championship and secure an undefeated regular season.
It can be difficult to perceive with a team that is having a season like South Central, but coach Becky Hintz says she believes her team is peaking here at the end of the regular season. "I think we are playing our best right now. I think it is great we are playing this game to close out the regular season. Crestview is a great team and it is definitely going to prepare us going into the tournament," she said.
South Central (21-0,13-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com girls' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Crestview (62-55) on January 10, handing the Lady Cougars their only loss of the year in the process.
Hintz says Crestview (19-1,12-1) is more than just the scoring of Renee Stimpert. "They play team ball really well. Stimpert, of course, she gets her points, but she also gets her teammates involved and that is one thing that I have seen this year," she says.
Hintz knows that Crestview will adjust to what they did the first time they played and they will have to adjust too. She says they are going to have to be the ones that make the hustle plays. "This game is going to be a little different. We just have to be ready for whatever they throw our way and do the best we can. Play the best defense we can. We have to do the little things right. We have to box out and control the boards, go after loose balls, and just hustle all of the time," she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday.
Published 2/19/15
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South Central to Play Athletic Mapleton
It has been a two team race in the Firelands Conference this year with Plymouth leading South Central by a game in the standings and they play in Greenwich next week, but there is some business to be taken care of by the Trojans in order to make next week important.
They play host to Mapleton in a conference game on Friday night and that is a game they are going to have to win.
Last Friday, the Trojans downed New London (66-56) to remain in second place in the conference. Coach Brett Seidel says it may have not been their best performance, but it was still a pretty good one. "I feel like we were kind of in survive and advance mode there. Not taking anything away from coach Howell because they do have a couple of 6'6" kids and their guards don't turn it over and they take care of basketball and are very fundamental. They played pretty well and we didn't shoot it particularly well probably because of them, but we won and it was a double digit win," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "They had gotten better and at this stage we have won multiple different ways we have had come back wins, we have had blowouts, and we have had nights when we were not playing very well and were still able to win."
Mapleton (6-11,6-5) is coming off a pretty good weekend, one of their best this year, with two wins in the conference over Western Reserve (81-78) on Friday and Monroeville (71-67) on Saturday. Seidel says the Mounties definitely have some weapons. "They have three great players. The two Barone's and very, very skilled and they can shoot and score in multiple ways and then they have the big kid inside that is very talented and very skilled with his back to the basket. Now they have a couple of their role players who are starting to score. One of their role players who signed with Ashland University for football, Conner Black, went for 27 the other night, so now other guys are starting to put the ball in the hoop. They are really, really tough to defend. That is going to be our focus all week being able to stop them" he said.
South Central (15-3,10-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball poll in the small school division, has been having its best season in more than a decade and Seidel says they can not look past the Mounties and be thinking about playing Plymouth next week. "That has kind of been our mentality all year one game at a time, just trying to focus on one game that is is the most important no mater who we are playing. So, Mapleton is our only focus right now we are not trying to use that "P" word this week in hopes that we get an opportunity to play in a big game again we have to take care of business on Friday," he said.
Published 2/10/15
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South Central Takes on Improved New London
South Central is one of the better basketball teams in North Central Ohio that nobody is talking about, but the Trojans continue to prove that they are pretty good.
After beating Monroeville (82-46) in a Firelands Conference game last Friday, they beat a very good Mansfield Christian team (75-56) on Saturday night in non-league play.
Coach Brett Seidel says they really have developed into an unselfish team and that has been a plus. He says against Mansfield Christian guard Dallas Yost was pretty much unstoppable. "The kids are really starting to share the basketball and don't care you gets the credit and when do that we can be pretty good. We played pretty well on Saturday night. Dallas Yost was very good. He was probably two assists or a travel or two from a triple double. He had 28, 8, and 11. He was kind of the man on Saturday night. Everybody else contributed, it wasn't just him, but he made everybody else better that night," said Seidel.
At the beginning of the season South Central had great potential and they have done a good job of fulfilling that, yet Seidel says they can still be a lot better team. "I thought that Saturday night was one of the best games that we had played, but we still had a few key guys that didn't play very well. We also didn't have everybody doing their assignments, boxing out and doing some little things," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "We didn't play for 32 minutes still. Is it one of our better games? absolutely and I don't want to take anything away from Mansfield Christian because they are very good and well coached, but we still have some things that we can correct and that is a good thing."
South Central (13-3,9-1) has to keep winning in order to keep pace with first place Plymouth, they trail the conference leaders by a game, and this week's assignment is New London (8-8,5-5) at home on Friday night. Seidel says after some time on the varsity floor the Wildcats have become a pretty good team. "They had some inexperience, they graduated several seniors last year. Whether they are juniors or seniors or not they still had very little experience. The Hamilton kid is back for them and that helps too. It probably took him a while to get used to it because he didn't play at all last year, but he lettered as a freshman. They are definitely playing well. Tom (Howell) always has them fundamentally prepared. They always play great defense and play hard," he said.
Published 2/05/15
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South Central Must be Able to Adapt
South Central is enjoying a fine year this year and they face an important stretch of games this weekend with Monroeville in Firelands Conference play and Mansfield Christian in non-conference action.
Last week, the Trojans (11-3,8-1) beat Western Reserve (63-55) on Thursday and Norwalk St. Paul (59-50) on Saturday. Coach Brett Seidel says they did what they needed to do to win. "I would like to think we are getting better. We are still not playing for 32 minutes, but I would also like to give credit to the two coaches that I faced last week and that's Mike Smith and Chris Sheldon and they both do a wonderful job with their program and a wonderful job preparing their kids and I think we got their best shot on both of those nights and were still able to hold on for a win. I don't want to take anything away from them, but I feel a couple of my players didn't play their best, but again credit to them for making that happen," said Seidel.
Monroeville is kind of a hard team to figure because they have been radically changing their approach to the game. Like last week for instance in a loss to Crestview (69-46) and win over Western Reserve (51-50) in conference action. Seidel says they played two totally different styles. "To be honest they played Thursday and Saturday, and I have both tapes. and they are completely different in both games," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "The Thursday night game they pressed and were the same Helter Skelter, kayos type play and lost by 20 to a team they had already beat. Then Saturday night they played a match-up 2-3 zone and slowed down and were a little more deliberate offensively and came away with a "W" so I am guessing, and I am probably going to guess wrong, that that is probably what we are going to see (Frdiay) night."
With the lack of consistency, Seidel says they have to be able to adapt to what they see on the floor. "We are preparing for what they did to be successful, but we know what they have been about for the first 12 games of the season, so we are prepared for that too. The good thing about my team is I do have kids that can adapt and can make plays no matter what defense we see," he said.
Mansfield Christian (9-4) comes to town on Saturday night and Seidel knows that even though this is not a league game it is important too. "Definitely Saturday night is a big game when it comes to seedings and drawings and obviously it is always good to beat a good team non-conference," he said.
Published 1/30/15
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South Central Needs to Play well Again
This has a chance to be the best year South Central has had in boys' basketball in a long time, maybe more than a decade, but they have to keep getting better.
Thursday night's game against Western Reserve will be an illustration of that principle. The Trojans hammered Western (72-54) on December 12 it what was one of South Central's best efforts of the season.
After losing their first conference to Plymouth (77-58) January 9, the Trojans responded by beating Crestview (72-52) last Friday night. Coach Brett Seidel says he was proud of how they responded to the loss to Plymouth. "We talked about rebounding as far as bouncing back from the bad defeat against Plymouth and we did. We didn't get off to a good start against Crestview, but I would like to credit them for that," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "We got things rolling and we had some kids make some shots and it always helps when the ball goes through the hoop. That definitely led to more defensive pressure at the other end and we came up with a win. Going against Chris Sheldon (Thursday) night is always a tough task."
South Central (9-3,6-1) hosts Western Reserve (4-7,3-4) in a conference game on Thursday night. The Rough Riders have won their last two games over Norwalk St. Paul (56-52) last Friday and Crestview (65-64) on Monday night. Seidel says Western has to be feeling better about themselves. "A lot of this game is confidence. You give those kids confidence they are going to start playing with confidence. I know this would be a big win for them, so I know they are going to come in ready to play," he said.
South Central has not had much success against Western Reserve over the last decade and Seidel knows they are going to have to have another solid performance if they are going to beat the Rough Riders again this time. "The thing about us beating them up there it was the first time in 12-13 years. Also, we played well and we shot it well. It was probably one of our better games that we have played all around. For us to be successful again we are going to have to have one of those efforts," he said.
Published 1/22/15
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South Central Ready to Battle Back
This has been a turn around season for the young South Central Trojans, but they had to learn a hard lesson last week. Plymouth is pretty good, but you can't change what you do just because you are playing the Big Red.
Plymouth handled the Trojans (77-58) last Friday night in an early season Firelands Conference showdown, ending the Trojans eight game winning streak. This Friday the Trojans play Crestview and coach Brett Seidel says that has to be where there focus is. "We have approached it by telling the kids it is just one game and we need to respond to it and rebound and comeback and try and get back on track this week. It was tough not having a game the very next night and to have this taste in our mouth for a week and I hope we are ready to get it out of our mouth," he said.
As far as learning from the loss last week, Seidel says they were not sharing the ball as much as they had been all season and they took too many quick shots, which fell right into Plymouth's game. "Number one they are very good. Number two they made jump shits and we didn't. Number three we tried to play fast," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "Getting up down is way we play, but we shot a lot of one pass shots and didn't really create for others and when you have Tyrell (Edmiston) down low rebounding the basketball those one pass shots turn into one and dones. So, we were playing offense for 10 seconds and defense for 30-40 seconds and they were executing and we weren't."
South Central (8-3,5-1) is at home on Friday night for the Crestview Cougars (1-8,1-3) for a Firelands Conference game. The Cougars appear to have more talent than their record would indicate and Seidel says they better be ready to play. "They are definitely a basketball team you can't overlook. When they do put it all together they have bigs, they have a fast point guard an they have shooters around them. When they put it all together they are as good as anybody in the league. it is definitely a team we can't overlook and think they are going to go in and lay down for us because it is not going to happen. We know it's a tough game like every league game is," said Seidel.
Published 1/16/15
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South Central Establishes Control
It a battle unbeaten teams on Saturday, Anna Hitnz scored 33 points and South Central downed Crestview (63-55) to take the outright lead in the Firelands Conference standings.
Coach Becky Hintz says they did it together. She says the win over the Lady Cougars was all about teamwork. "Our girls knew how important this game was and they were determined that they were going to win. They played hard and they played together as a team. They got the job done together," she said.
Crestview is led by explosive scorer Renee Stimpert, who broke the school's single game scoring record earlier this season against Hillsdale. Hintz says the did a pretty good job of limiting her points and then rebounding the misses. "It came down to little things like rebounds and stuff like that. We really wanted to focus on out rebounding them and getting that backside rebound, especially when Stimpert and some of those other guards would shoot those threes we wanted to make sure they didn't get second shots," she told Swankonsports.com, "They got just one shot and then we are down at the other end. We really had to step up our defense and know where Stimpert was all times and also take away that backside shot off the skip pass."
Stimpert scored 26 points in the loss.
South Central (10-0) plays at Loudonville (4-5) on Tuesday evening. Hintz says the goal is to keep the momentum going. "That is one thing we talked about we aren't even halfway done. It's one game at a time and you have to focus on the next team and knock them off one game at a time," he said.
Published 1/13/15
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South Central Plays its Biggest Game in More than a Decade
An eight game winning streak has brought the South Central Trojans into a showdown with Firelands Conference co leader Plymouth on Friday night in what is likely the biggest boys' basketball game for the Trojans since anyone cared about Brittany Spears.
The Trojans lost twice on the opening week of the season five weeks ago to Mansfield St. Peter's and Edison, but now coach Brett Seidel says they are playing with confidence. "The first weekend of the season seems like a season ago. We are sharing the basketball well and playing hard at the defensive end. Every once in a while a shot goes down and that makes us look even better. The kids are really playing well right now," he said.
They still have some perimeter shooters, but Seidel says this Trojans team has the ability to score in a variety of ways. "Last year we lived and died by the three and that was it. Last year I think we averaged 23, maybe 24 three attempts per game and now we are only averaging around 15 and making about six of them. So, the percentage is fairly good for three point shooting and the attempts aren't there as much. We are trying to get to the basket more and we have some kids that can get to the rim off the dribble," said Seidel.
And unlike last year, Seidel says they are playing pretty good defense, maybe not all of the time, but most of the time. "We still don't have consistent effort by all five on the floor at the same time. We still don't have 32 minutes of consistent effort. Sometimes we have missed assignments. At the halfway point you don't want to be playing perfect quite yet. For the most part of the effort is there most of the time and sometimes we get mixed up," he said.
South Central (8-2,5-0) takes the short trip to Plymouth (7-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday night. Seidel says the Big Red has experience and talent all over the floor. "They have three, four year starters, so that experience alone makes them good. They have a tremendous athlete in Edmiston. They have toughness. Bebee is a scorer. Bailey knows his role and accepts it. And then they have a very good coach," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "With all of those combined it will be no easy task. Their only loss is at the buzzer to state ranked Colonel Crawford. It is not going to be easy, especially in their gym."
These are clearly the two best teams in the Firelands Conference this year and if South Central is to win Seidel says they must rebound the ball. "We are going to have to rebound well. One of the things they do is they offensive rebound very well. So, that is going to be a very big focus of ours to just limit their shot attempts," he said.
Published 1/07/15
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South Central and Monroeville Play at the "Q"
The Cavaliers and Lebron James host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, but the opening act is going to be a Firelands Conference game between South Central and Monroeville on the floor of Quicken Loans Arena.
South Central should be a pretty good team this year, but they lost their first two games to Mansfield St. Peter's and Edison in non-conference play. However, last Friday Dallas Yost scored 22 points and the Trojans shot 54% at Western Reserve in beating the Rough Riders (72-54) in their Firelands Conference opener. Coach Brett Seidel says they regained their shooting touch. "It definitely covers a lot of things up when you put the ball in the hoop. We were 11 for 15 from three. The kids were moving the ball and the shots were going down," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday. "It definitely helped their confidence. It had been 13 years since we beat Western Reserve period, let alone at their place. Winning on the road against a Chris Sheldon team definitely helps get the monkey off our back. Hopefully we can start playing with more confidence."
The Trojans have a lot of guys that can score and now that they have settled into the season, Seidel hopes they can continue to put points on the board. "Through the preseason we had shot the ball really well. In the first two games we didn't shoot the ball well and that really uncovered a lot of other mistakes we are making with turnovers and defensive errors and missed box outs, but when the ball goes in the hoop it covers all of that stuff back up. If the kids remain confident and play consistent I am thinking that we have enough players and shooters that not everybody is going to be off on the same night again," said Seidel.
Jeremiah Diebler, son of Keith Diebler, brother of Jon Diebler, is now the coach at Monroeville. Seidel says they run the system that has become synonymous with the name. "Same name, same system. That is what we are seeing on film. It is kind of Helter Skelter. They are in range as soon as they cross half court. They like to press, make or miss or turnovers they are pressuring you. If we handle the basketball we should be okay. That is going to be the emphasis. They really get after you. They play hard and he has them competing at a high level. How well we take care of the basketball is the difference," said Seidel.
Of course, it a bigger floor than at Monroeville, where the game was originally scheduled, and Seidel says that probably helps them. "I would guess that that is a help. That was my thought when we scheduled the game to be honest. In all the six years that I have been coaching I have never won at their place. To not to have to go into that gym and not having to play against that havoc they put on you is definitely to our advantage in my opinion. I would like to think the 94 foot floor is going to benefit us," he said.
Published 12/17/14
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South Central Must Handle Expectations
Before the season started many people, including this reporter, thought South Central would be one of better teams in the Firelands Conference, and they still might be, but they didn't look that good last weekend.
They lost to Mansfield St. Peter's (48-43) and Edison (53-48) both in games they could have won.
Coach Brett Seidel says perhaps he put too much pressure on his team. He says they didn't shoot it very well either night. "Our two best players have to contribute a little more than they did the last time. They combined for 6-for-28 shooting performance and that is not what we had seen all summer or in scrimmages. I think I probably put a little too much pressure on us with too many expectations with the returning lettermen just expecting greatness out of the gate and when that didn't happen we tried harder and the more we tried the father we sank," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "I would say it is probably my fault as well. We didn't play well especially at St. Pete's or Edison, we couldn't close out either game really in the fourth quarter. He definitely have do a better job of taking care of the basketball down the stretch."
As far as not making shots is concerned, Seidel says it was both not getting good shots and not making them. He says they have be more confident in pulling the trigger. "I would say it is a combination of both. They weren't making shots and actually one of them didn't take very many shots. We are trying to get them both to be a little more assertive and a little bit more aggressive from the start," he said.
South Central (0-2) opens conference play at Western Reserve (1-1) on Friday night. The Rough Riders played two overtime games last week, beating Margaretta (61-59) on Friday and losing to Wellington (65-56) on Saturday.
Seidel says they are going to have to pick up their platy if they expect to win on the road in the conference. "Obviously Chris runs an excellent program over there, so it is not going to be an easy task. They have a couple of good guards and they all play hard. He has them playing well right out of the gate against Maragretta and Wellington. It is not going to get any easier for us and we are going to have to come ready to play," said Seidel.
Published 12/12/14
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South Central Meets St. Peter's
The South Central at Mansfield St. Peter's game on Friday night has some interesting twists to it.
Former St. Peter's head coach Pat Durham is now the varsity assistant at South Central, so he is going to have some knowledge of the St. Peter's personnel. Plus, St. Peter's lost the player that would have been the leading scorer among returnees in David Hall, who transferred to Mansfield Senior.
Trojans coach Brett Seidel, who was an All-Ohio player at South Central when Durham was its head coach, says they have good talent, but he isn't sure how good they will be as a team. "We have kind of went vanilla we haven't put a whole lot more in. We tried to put everything in the first week and continued to review and fine tune. It is all a mystery right now of how good we can be. It is kind of a mystery for St. Pete's as well having a new coach, and having their old coach on our staff, and some graduation and moving of players and what not they have different personnel. It is a mystery with the opening game, but hopefully we come out and at least play hard," said Seidel.
Last season, the Trojans depended quite a bit on making perimeter shots, which led to some inconsistency. Seidel believes they can do a little more in the paint this year. "I talked to Chris Sheldon last year and that is what he said to me. We started out of the gate 5-2, but we were making shots, making threes, once they started not going down for us and we didn't play as hard we didn't find other ways to score," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "With Jason Hale he is 6'5" sophomore and he has matured quite a bit and he provides some interior scoring. We are pretty long across the board, we don't have any other big guys. We have 6'2", 6'2", 6'2" and they can all get to the rim, so hopefully we have found other ways to score other than just the three point shot this year."
Joe Jakubick is now the head coach at St. Peter's and they will have some guys back that played a lot for them last year in Richard Shawn and Adam Blunk. But, Seidel says it's Hall they remember the most. "It's a different lineup, a different coach, and I am hoping for a different result. David Hall banked in a three against us last year and then banked in the game winner at the buzzer in overtime. My kids remember him. So, hopefully different result as well this year," he said.
Seidel says he really doesn't know how much Jakubick and his staff know about the Trojans, but he says they will know enough. "I don't know if he has any film on me from this year or he just has last year's film. I know we were pretty good against St. Peter's last year on the opening night. I imagine he has access to that film at least. We have all eight guys back, so he has definitely seen who they were and what they can do," he said.
Published 12/03/14
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South Central "FC" Favorite Again
South Central finished 24-2 last year, losing to New Riegel in the division four district final, and this year should be another pretty good year for the Lady Trojans basketball team.
They blew through the Firelands Conference last season, losing only to Monroeville in early December.
Coach Becky Hintz says with some solid talent back there is great potential for another solid season this year. "I think we will have another great year as long as everything goes well and we stay healthy. We have three of our five starters back and all three of those starters that are back are very strong," she told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "Then we have a couple to step into the shoes of our starters that we graduated last year. So, we should have another great year."
South Central is still going to be able to score some points this season and Hintz thinks they will be better on defense than they were last year. "Defensively I think we should be a lot more improved. A little bit more quicker. Definitely defensively we should be better," she said.
However, in order to score you have to have the ball. Hintz says they have to become better rebounders. "We have been working on that. We need to crash the board a lot more. We are not as tall as we were overall last year. So, we definitely have to be able to crash the boards well," she said.
South Central starts the regular season with a non-conference game at West Salem Northwestern on Saturday.
Their first conference game is at Norwalk St. Paul on December 6.
Published 11/26/14
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South Central Has Potential
South Central has a lot of guys that can shoot the ball and if they play together they can end up being a pretty good basketball team, but that remains to be seen.
Coach Brett Seidel says they have to get a lot better, but they have shown some good signs. "We have had one scrimmage and that was against Willard and Gibsonburg and both of those teams were chosen to win their league. We had good competition and we faired pretty well. Willard got us, but we beat Gibsonburg a couple of quarters. We were able to compete with Willard for the most part. We still have a lot of growing to do, a lot of learning to do, but we are coning along," said Seidel.
Former South Central head coach Pat Durham is now the Trojans varsity assistant and Seidel says he remembers what he taught him. "Like an old coach of mine Pat Durham says talent just gets you so far and potential just means you haven't done anything yet. That is kind of where we stand from last year when we only won seven or eight ball games," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "Yeah, we have eight lettermen back, but what does that mean? What does that look like? We are just trying to figure out what we do well and try and get better at that and try and get better at the game in general."
A key to the Trojans success this year, according to Seidel, is their willingness to think team first. "Well, the thing that we have changed so far that has been better is the selflessness. Last year I thought it was a very selfish, we individual type of play. I feel like this year, and this summer, an this year I already see a lot of selflessness taking place. That I think has been the difference so far. I think that is what is going to change results from last year, just playing as a team," he said.
South Central opens the season December 5 at Mansfield St. Peter's and they host Edison the next night, both in non-conference play.
Published 11/19/14
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South Central Wants to End Season on a Good Note
South Central has been a better football team than anybody thought they would be this year and they would like to end the season with a win.
Leading at halftime last week, the Trojans imploded in the second half to lose to Western Reserve (57-30) in Firelands Conference action.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says they let Western have too many big plays in the third quarter. "It got away from us there a little bit in the fourth quarter. That was probably the worst quarter we have played all year. They are a good team, even with their record being 1-7, they are still a pretty decent team and had some really good sized kids. Things were clicking for them at not for us at that time," he said.
A win against New London on Friday night would give the Trojans (3-6,2-4) four wins on the season and Hinkle says this been a good year for the program, especially considering where they have been. "I think this year has been a step in the right direction. We had a bad year last year, we went 0-10, so coming in this year anything would be better," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "We were able to win some games and stay competitive. Our numbers were really hurting at times only having 20, 22 total, 20 dressed most of the time, it was a little hard to practice and get better at times, but I would say the kids played hard and have done a good job of buying in to what we want to do."
New London (3-6,3-3) is coming off a (34-6) thumping at the hands of Plymouth last week in league play, that broke a two game winning streak for the Wildcats. Hinkle says it should be a good game. "They have a nice team and from what we see on tape they do some very nice things. It is going to be a tough one for us. There are really no easy ones in the conference. I think it is a pretty balanced conference up here and everyone seems to play hard against each other," he said.
Published 10/28/14
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South Central Likes Underdog Role
South Central has already done some things this year that nobody thought they would do and they would like to do more.
Predicted to finish at the bottom of the Firelands Conference, the Trojans rushed their record to (3-4,2-2) with a (34-31) win over Monroeville last week.
They led (25-0) at halftime and went on to stop the Eagles, preventing them from winning their first game of the season. Coach Wayne Hinkle says they did what they had to do. "When you can hang on an win that is the most important thing. We talked about coming out fast. We knew that Monroeville would be looking for a win and be fired up a little bit." he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "We wanted to take that away from them early. We did that, but then we kind of let them back in. When you let a team like that back in it is hard to beat them."
Hinkle thinks one of the most important things about the team this year is they have done a good job of forming a unit and coming together as a team. "We have made so many improvements. I just think the biggest thing is to come together and play as a team and not jut rely on one person or whatever. We are playing all 20 kids and just being a unit instead of relying on one or two people," he said.
The Trojans host Mapleton (5-2,4-0) this week in Firelands Conference action. Last week, Travis Pickering ran 182 yards and four touchdowns in their (42-12) rout of Crestview. Hinkle says the Mounties have a lot of weapons. "They are a nice team. They have a nice running back, nice receiver, their quarterback does a nice job for them. They are pretty strong up from. It's going to be a tough game for us. We just have to come out and play our game and hopefully some good things will happen for us," he said.
Mapelton is the favorite in this game and they are expected to win. Hinkle wants his team to go out and play free and easy. "That is what we are kind of hoping for, again, to go out and play hard and let the chips fall where they may and get after it and hopefully win a home game. It seems like forever since we have won a home game. We are looking forward to that too," he said.
Published 10/14/14
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South Central Going in With a Plan
South Central last week beat Crestview for maybe the first time ever and now they play longtime rival Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game outside of Greenwich on Friday night.
Jacob Carney scored with less than two minutes to play to lift the Trojans to a (27-20) win. Carney ran for 58 yards and passed for 179 in the game.
Coach Wayne Hinkle says they made big plays when they had to make them in the late going. "It was a good game for the kids and really a good game for everybody to watch when you come back late and score like that. We had to score twice in the fourth quarter to win. The first one we scored with about seven minutes left. We went for two and didn't get it so we are down a point, so we have to score again. We were able to score with a little under two minutes and come out on top, the kids did a great job," he said.
South Central (2-3,1-1) was winless last year and Hinkle says the win over Crestview was big for the player's confidence. "There are times when you need them and that was one that we really needed for the confidence. We thought we let one slip away a couple of weeks before when we played Cardington. Then we come out an play St. Paul and you don't do to well there. So, your confidence is down a little bit. When you can get that win it really does help. This week's practice has gone a lot better. It is neat to see that they are really feeling good about themselves right now," said Hinkle.
On Friday night, the Trojans host one their biggest rivals in the Plymouth Big Red (4-1,1-1) in a Firelands Conference game. Plymouth averages over 40 points. Hinkle says they have to possess the ball and tackle very well so they can stop the big play. "They score on a lot of big plays and we don't. We try to control the ball," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "So, we hope we can control it and then make a play so they don't get a big play. We have worked this week on what we feel their big play people are and we will try to contain them the best we can."
Published 10/03/14
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South Central With Huge Challenge
South Central has played better football this year than a lot of people thought they were going to, but they have a tremendous challenge this week as they host defending Firelands Conference champion Norwalk St. Paul in the conference opener for both.
Last week, South Central (1-2) lost when Cardington scored a fourth quarter touchdown and beat the Trojans (20-16) in non-conference play. Coach Wayne Hinkle says losing is bad, but it wasn't the worst thing that happened last week. "Those are hard to take and even harder to take was we lost a couple of players due to injury. Cam Conway is going to be out for the year now with a broken leg and we lost Carson Kinney, a very good lineman, for a couple of weeks with a bad ankle. So, those things really hurt. Not only do you lose a game, but you lose some players and that really hurts you," said Hinkle.
South Central, who relies on its ground game, gut only 114 rushing yards against Cardington and Hinkle says when they have injuries it is hard to make up for them with replacements. "We don't have a lot of depth and when you lose some kids like that it really does hurt you. We will take what we have though and we will go back at this week to get those kids ready to play and do our best," he said.
St. Paul (2-1) comes into the game off a (14-7) loss to the Huron Tigers in non-conference play last week. They dominated the Firelands Conference last year and were the preseason choice to repeat this fall. Over the last three years St. Paul has beaten the Trojans by a combined score of 127-20 and a lot of those Flyers points have been scored in the first half of games.
Hinkle says St. Paul has a quality to its approach to football and to stay in this one they must play with tremendous heart and desire. "They have that tradition of football they have been playing for years. Coach Livengood has been there for years and he does a great job of getting his kids prepared," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "They only know one way to play and that is hard and aggressive and they do that very well. To be able to compete with them you have to be able to match their intensity and speed and play hard every play."
Published 9/18/14
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First Quarter Big for South Central
After getting bounced last week, South Central needs a strong start to the game as they play host to Cardington in a battle of 1-1 teams in non-conference play on Friday night.
Columbia hammered the Trojans (50-7) last week and coach Wayne Hinkle says they took it to the Trojans, especially physically. "They were a very good team, let's put it that way. Maybe better than we thought. They came out and played really well and sort of out muscled us a bit and we had some injuries that really hurt us too," he said.
Hinkle says they have to get better in the trenches and be able to respond when they get the ball in scoring territory. "We have to get better up front on the line and know where you we are supposed to block and when we are supposed to block those certain people on what plays and finish those plays off," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "We moved the ball against Columbia we just couldn't finish the drives. We are working to make sure we finish the drives and score touchdowns."
Cardington (1-1) blasted Riverdale (54-13) in its first game, but lost to powerhouse Marion Pleasant (40-0) last week. Hinkle says this is a game they have an opportunity to win if they play well. "They are not a bad team. They are young. It is a new football coach there like it is here. It's an opportunity for us to show we are better than we were last week and we'll see what happens," he said.
South Central was winless last year and has no better than a 6-4 record in any season over the last 20 years. Hinkle says they need to play well early in the game. "I think it is probably really important confidence wise and that, whoever gets off to a good start. It will help with that confidence level," he said.
Published 9/09/14
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Trojans Turing it Around
South Central went all last season without a win, but this season they won on the opening night and have injected a spirit of enthusiasm into the program and the whole Greenwich area.
The Trojans took a three touchdown lead in the first half and went on to outscore Seneca East (39-24) last week in Attica. Coach Wayne Hinkle, also the high school principal, says the win just made everybody feel good. "It was really nice to get off to that kind of start, especially with what the program had been through the last year without a win. Getting that first win is always great. It is good for the program, good for the community, good for the school," said Hinkle.
Offensively the Trojans were able to do a lot good things, especially on the ground, according to Hinkle. "The quarterback played well. The receivers caught the ball and he threw the ball well. We were able to run the ball, which we thought we could do," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "Cameron Conway had 27 carries for 155 yards and Michael Jenny had 22 carries for 85 yards. Those kids were workhorses and did a pretty good job for us."
In the trenches Hinkle says they were able to do the job at the point of attack and that was the key to running the ball. "The guys up front did a wonderful jog getting their blocks and staying on those blocks and opening some holes for those guys," he said.
South Central will be at Columbia (0-1) on Friday night. The Raiders lost to Independence (40-35) in their first game, but they have been in the playoffs in three of the last four years. Plus, they have dominated the Trojans winning 51-7, 40-0 and 32-8 over the last three years.
Hinkle says again Columbia has a lot of excellent players. "We are going to see a nice football team with good size and good quickness. It is going to be a challenge. We told the kids it was an opportunity. We feel like this every week it's an opportunity and what you do with that opportunity is the difference," he said.
Published 9/04/14
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South Central Doing Things the old way
High School Principal Wayne Hinkle is now also the football coach at South Central and he thinks he can help to lead the Trojans out of the doldrums.
Hinkle says he likes the way the players have adopted to his style of play and way of coaching. "I have liked the way our kids have bought in to what we are trying to do. It is a new offense and defense for them. They have really bought in well, working hard, and making improvement everyday," he said.
There are a lot of schools that have went with more a spread or wide open approach to offense, but Hinkle says he is a little old school. "It will probably be more traditional football type offense, not what I call basketball on grass. We run two backs in the backfield, quarterback under center, pro and con looks, with some twins every once in while, certainly more traditional," said Hinkle.
If you are going to go with a traditional two back offense you have to get good play from your offensive line and Hinkle believes those guys are coming along nicely. "It is all knew for them, but we are teaching it to them. Getting in that first scrimmage and seeing the mistakes they made. There was really vast improvement from scrimmage one to scrimmage two and I think they really understand more after that and they are coming along really well," he said.
With the way things worked out staff wise at South Central the previous coach Aaron Brokaw did not teach there. Hinkle says with him being in the building everyday is a big plus. "I am really happy with their approach. We don't mention it much. We just talk about where we are, where we've been, and where we are going. That's the way we are looking at it with improvement everyday. I think being here with them in the building is a lot better also," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "The last two years the coaches weren't here in the building. We can talk to them and if things aren't going well we can get to them right now and if things are going well we can pump them up for that. I think that is a big part of it too because they feel more comfortable because we are here all of the time."
Published 8/22/14
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South Central Picked For Good Season
Western Reserve has been the dominate power in girls’ basketball in the Firelands Conference and before that Plymouth and before that Crestview, it has been a while for South Central, but this might be the year for the Lady Trojans.
With daughters Anna and Alli Hintz among the top players in the conference, coach Becky Hintz has been able to put together a strong team for the 2013-2014 season. “The girls are working really hard. They are working together as a team. In just in the few scrimmages that we have had and a preview we have already seen the results of their hard work paying off,” she told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They aren’t done, they are going to continue to work hard. They have to take one day at a time, one practice at a time, and one game at a time.”
A panel of media experts, now there is an oxymoron, selected South Central as the clear favorite to dethrone Western Reserve as conference champion. Eight of the 10 voters picked the Lady Trojans for the top spot.
Coach Hintz says they can score the ball, but they still need some improvement when it comes to defense and rebounding. “We need to improve on our rebounding. We have spurts were we rebound real well. We just need to be more consistent on that end. Of course, we always need to work on our defense,” she said.
When you have the favorites tag like South Central does you have to ready each and every time out. Hintz says they need leadership and they have some players that are stepping into those roles. “Last year we had some issues with nobody wanting to step up and be a leader and this year they are starting to see that is very important that they need to take leadership roles and I think that is a big key,” she said.
South Central opens the season at home on Saturday night against West Salem Northwestern in a non-conference match-up. There opening conference game will be December 5 at defending champion Western Reserve.
Published 11/20/13
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South Central Needs Better Execution
South Central’s football program hit rock bottom last Friday when a loss to Crestline broke the Bulldogs 19 game losing streak dating back to the third week of the 2011 season.
Crestline earned the win (28-22) last Friday night at Hudson Stadium in Crestline.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says his kids just didn’t take advantage of the situations they were given last week, especially in the first half of the game. “Our kids played harder than I think they played in the first two weeks, but we just left too many points on the board in the first half. Crestline played hard too. They have been searching for a win for a while now and unfortunately they got it against us,” said Brokaw.
The coach says that they just making too many mistakes to put points on the board and most of those errors are coming up front. “We have to be a lot better on offense. W e have a couple of running backs that are running pretty hard right now and we are doing a better job taking care of the football, but we have had just too many missed assignments up front. Hopefully we can get tart worked out here in practice or Saturday night is going to be another long one against St. Paul,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday night.
Things are not going to get easier for the Trojans as they visit Firelands Conference favorite Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday night at Whitney Field in Norwalk. The Flyers (2-1) lost (48-14) to Huron last Friday and are likely simmering a bit. Brokaw says he is steaming a little bit too. “They are a good team and they return a lot of guys from last year. Hopefully our guys start getting in a little bit of an angry mood after getting their business handed to them for three straight weeks because frankly I am in a bad mood,” he said.
In their first three games this year against Seneca East, Columbia and Crestline, the Trojans have taken the ball down the field. Brokaw says Saturday night they have to push it in for scores. “That is something we haven’t been able to yet their year. I think every first possession we have had this season we have driven the field and for whatever reason have not finished off a drive. On Friday night we left our first possession on the one yard line and our second possession on the eight yard line. We have to be able to put it in and finish drives off,” he said.
Published 9/16/13
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Same Tune For South Central
For South Central it was too many turnovers and not enough defense in a thrashing by Seneca East last week.
The Tigers were up by four scores and went on to bury South Central (54-21) in the opener. Coach Aaron Brokaw says it was not a very good performance by his team. “We did not play very sound football Friday night. Take nothing away from them they are a good football team. They gave us an old fashion butt kicking,” he said.
Turnovers have been a thorn in the side of the Trojans and something that Brokaw has harped on in his 11 games as their coach. He says it was a problem again last week. “It was something that we thought we had taken steps in the right direction. We only had one turnover in three scrimmages and we had six on Friday night. It’s hard to beat anybody when you turn the ball over that many times,” he said.
Brokaw still feels the potential is there for this to be a better season than last year when they were 3-7. “The season isn’t over after one week for us. We have a difficult task this week with Columbia Station. Like I told the kids the biggest improvement you are going to see in a team is usually between week one and week two because they have finally seen what it is really like on Friday night. Our kids weren’t very happy with their performance on Saturday during film. Hopefully we are going to get a great week of practice,” said Brokaw.
Columbia Station is the assignment for Friday night and Brokaw knows it will be a tough one, they bet the Trojans (40-0) last year. “They are very good football team again. They return nine starters on defense and eight or nine on offense from the playoff team that they had last year. Their quarterback is a big kid about 6’4” and 190 pounds. He is really athletic and throws a nice ball. He is the centerpiece of their offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “He is also their free safety on defense. They have a couple of undersized defensive tackles that are just quick and very low to the ground. They are going to be problematic for us if we don’t fire out better than we did last week.”
One of the keys for this week for the Trojans will be to contain the Columbia offense to that pocket and not let them break containment. “We definitely don’t want to flush this guy out of the pocket. He is faster than anybody we have. You hate to say you want to have somebody beat you throwing after what happened to our secondary last week, but I think that is probably our best bet to hope he has an off night throwing and we can keep him from running too much,” said Brokaw.
South Central Faces Explosive Seneca East
South Central is making progress, but they are going to have to make a lot when they face experienced Seneca East in their first regular season game on Friday night.
The Tigers are picked to finish second behind Carey in the Midland Athlete League.
For the Trojans, second year coach Aaron Brokaw saw a lot of good things in their final scrimmage of the year. “I doubt you will ever be where you want to be as a coach, but we have made a lot of progress through the preseason. Our guys played really well defensively in our preview against Cardington. Offensively we have to work on being a lot more consistent. We take too many plays off. Hopefully we will get that ironed out before this weekend,” said Brokaw.
For one thing Brokaw believes their defense is going to be vastly improved from a year ago. “On our defensive line, guys that were rotational players there last year, have done a nice job. Our linebackers have all looked pretty decent. The biggest thing is our secondary has really started to put things together. They are seeing things a lot more clearly and being able to react and make plays on the football and come up and make tackles. We were lacking that last year and in our first scrimmage even,” said Brokaw.
On offense, the progress has been slower and Brokaw still feels they need a lot more consistency when they have the ball. “We are heading in the right direction. We still didn’t finish as many drives as we should have in our in our preview against Cardington, but we did finish a couple of drives and we think we can build on that,” he said.
Seneca East has some athletes and Brokaw believes they are going to try and spread them out, just like they did last year. “Seneca East is a four and five wide receiver offense. They have a quarterback, I believe, is in his fourth year starting. He is a pretty good athlete. Hopefully, we can get some shots on him and then he will think twice about stepping into some of his throws,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have some decent receivers. The backs, it is kind of hard to tell right now, they have rotated a lot of guys in the preseason, so we aren’t really sure what we are going to get out of them. Defensively, they really like to crowd the box and play a lot of man coverage in the secondary. We are hoping we are able to exploit that a little better than we were last year.”
Seneca East won last year in Greenwich 20-0. This time Brokaw would like more pressure on the quarterback. “We would like to get a little pressure on him. They do run some option, so we have to make sure we are playing assignment football, so that when they are running the option we are getting to him,” he said.
Published 8/28/13
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South Central Trying to Take Steps
South Central has been a football program that generally has finished in the bottom half of the Firelands Conference and has not won more than six games in any year in the last 25.
Second year coach Aaron Brokaw wants to make them winners and the numbers tell you will a tough assignment.
Brokaw has says the players are putting out the right kind of effort. “We have a lot of kids that are eager to get better and have really bought into the process. Anytime you are around kids that really want to do things the right way it always makes coaching a lot easier,” he said.
The Trojans were 3-7 a year ago and Brokaw doesn’t want to establish a number this year that he and the program would be happy with. “We really haven’t put it in terms of numbers with this group. We are looking to get better every day and we figure if we do that the numbers will take care of themselves. We are trying to turn things around. I really don’t believe in putting a number on it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We could improve from the team last year and if our schedule’s better we could end up with the same record. I don’t want the kids to get caught up in the wins and loses every week. I just want them to go out and compete hard and work at what they are supposed to be working at every day.”
If they are going to win more games and have more success Brokaw says they must limit the turnovers and put the ball in the end zone when they get it in the red zone. “First and foremost we have to be better at taking care of the football. We fumbled the ball way too many times last year. We cut our interceptions in more than half from the previous year, but we fumbled I can’t even think how many times. We have to finish drives. I think we had seven or eight drives last year over 12 plays that we didn’t get any points. Those two things alone we make us a much better football team this season,” said Brokaw.
Power Run Important for South Central
South Central and Mapleton meet in Firelands Conference action on Friday night. The Trojans have just one win in the conference, while Mapleton is winless. So, it’s a game about pride.
In a loss (40-6) to Monroeville last week South Central (2-6,1-4) really couldn’t get anything done. Coach Aaron Brokaw says he was surprised they were not more competitive. “We were a little surprised about how that game went. We had a real good week of practice and we thought that was game we had a real good chance at. On offense we started out and we didn’t put the defense in very good position again. We just couldn’t make plays when we needed to,” he said.
Mapleton (2-6,0-5) has been able to score points this season, but they have not been able to stop anyone. An example would be their loss (42-28) at Crestview last week. Brokaw says the Mounties have some depth issues. “Offensively they are a pretty sound football team. They have a nice pass game. They are able to run the ball well. Their offensive line does a pretty nice job. They are pretty low on numbers this year, so they get pretty wore out and that has been some of their problem in the second half of games,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They have played with everybody through two quarters, three quarters. It’s the fourth quarter that kind of hurts them. We have not put together a complete game yet this year either, so it should be a pretty good game. Hopefully, our offense won’t sputter out again. We can do a little something that will keep us in the game.”
Turnovers have been an issue for the Trojans this year. Brokaw says they are going to try and keep the ball in their hands and force Mapleton to stop them from running the ball. “They have had some issues with the power run game, especially later on in games when they start to get tired. Their interior of the defensive line is a little bit smaller, their defensive ends are pretty good. They have a couple of young sophomores at linebacker that are decent. I think having a nice mix of run and pass for us would be good trying to keep ourselves in manageable situations instead of second and longs,” aid Brokaw.
South Central Making Strides
South Central beat Crestview for the first time since the Indians were a powerhouse and now they are preparing to face another next door rival as they host Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, the Trojans (2-4,1-2) forced seven turnovers and they handled Crestview (22-7) in conference play. Coach Aaron Brokaw says they still didn’t take advantage like they should have on offense. “Like we talked last week, I thought our defense has been playing pretty well all year. Offensively, we haven’t capitalized when we have had opportunities and we have put them in bad spots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday night, “Friday night, we still wasted a few opportunities on offense. Our defense played lights out the whole game. I think we forced five fumbles and two interceptions. We had good field position all night long. We came up with 22 points, we would liked to have a few more. It had been a while since we beat Crestview. It was definitely good to get a victory.”
On offense, Brokaw says they need to stop shooting themselves in the foot. If they can execute better they have the opportunity compete with the better teams on the schedule. “We are still turning the ball over, one is too many for us. The last three weeks we have only had one turnover each night. We have gotten that to a manageable situation. Problem is we still getting that one at a bad time. Last Friday night, we were in position to close it out inside the ten with about eight minutes to go and that would have put us up three scores. We fumble and they go down the field and make it a one possession game. Fortunately our defense gave us a couple of more opportunities. We responded and got that extra touchdown for a little bit of breathing room,” said Brokaw.
Plymouth (3-3,2-1) visits on Friday night and Brokaw says the Rig Red has a big play book on offense and they have the talent to execute those plays too. “They have put up some points in quite a few of their games so far this year. They do a lot offensively formation wise. I mean they are all over the place. That is definitely going to take some time to prepare for. We are working on that right now. Defensively, they are pretty sound. They have some big guys up front. They have a couple of young skilled guys that are sophomores that have done a real nice job for them this year. Coach Genders has that program headed in the right direction. He is one of the coaches in the conference that I have gotten to know a little better than the others and I have a lot of respect for the way he does things over there,” said Brokaw.
The Trojans have been playing some pretty good defense, but Brokaw they don’t do a lot of stunts and things, so they are not going to put in a lot of stuff for Plymouth either. “We don’t do all that much on defense. We don’t want to be predictable. We want the guys to be able to play fast, so we don’t have a huge package that we are throwing out there each week on defense. We can take a little bit of time this week to look at the extra things that they are doing and make sure we are sound in the way we are defending that. Ryan Tanner is our defensive coordinator. He does a heck of a job and he will have those guys ready to go,” said Brokaw.
This a Game South Central Can Win
The South Central football team is coming off a tough two game stretch, but now they play a game they have a chance to win.
The Trojans lost back to back games to arguably the two best teams in the Firelands Conference in Western Reserve (48-7) and Norwalk St. Paul (31-6) to fall to 1-and-4 on the season. This week they play at Crestview (1-4,0-2) in a conference game.
First year coach Aaron Brokaw says many of his kids invested a lot of energy in the St. Paul game, but he told them there are other fish to fry. “Our seniors especially put a lot of weight in the St. Paul game. That was something they really wanted to beat them. We talked a lot Saturday about the fact that the point where the program is at right now to realistically believe that you are going to beat St. Paul, it’s good to think that way, but you can’t let it be your whole season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We have to take steps and we have to beat teams that are where we are at right now. Then later on down the road think about knocking off the elite of the conference like the St. Paul’s and Western’s of the world.”
Crestview won the conference title last year and has been one of the top teams in the conference over the last 15 years, but the Cougars are dealing with a lot of youth this year. Brokaw says they still count on the power running game. “They are a lot like us in many respects. They are breaking in a number of new starters. They are young. The one thing they have that we don’t is they are staying with the system that they have run in the past. They are running the ball with play action. They have a little bit of spread stuff, but they want to run the ball. They have a couple of nice backs that are juniors. The Hill kid and the King kid are decent runners. Their offensive line has more size than I think it did last year. They do a decent job. They are inexperienced and they are trying to find their way right now, just like we are,” said Brokaw.
Most high school games are decided this way and Brokaw understands the Trojans have to win the battle in the trenches. “That is one thing coming out of Western that we weren’t happy with. Coming out of the St. Paul game we gave up a decent amount of yardage rushing, but our defense played a lot better. Offensively we didn’t put them in good position. We didn’t capitalize offensively when we had an opportunity too. Most of their yardage came on a couple of runs they broke through. We had a couple plays when we took ourselves out of position. For the most part we were happy with the way our defensive front played. Our defensive backs have gotten a lot more aggressive since the start of the season until now,” said Brokaw.
South Central Kids Getting it
South Central won its first game of the season last week and the first game in the career of head coach Aaron Brokaw.
The Trojans built a lead and hung on to beat the Crestline Bulldogs (20-19) in a non-conference game. Brokaw says they had to dig deep to get the win. “It was a little closer than we would have liked for to have been, but the nice thing is our kids had to battle for 48 minutes. That is something they haven’t done in the past. It’s a good teaching tool. We are able to move on from that. We got a lot more out of it having to play that way,” he said.
Brokaw says they had a very good week of practice last week and that was a huge factor in the win over Crestline. “I thought last week during practice some of the things we have been working on offensively during the summer and the first part of the season started to look a little crisper. Some of the kids are starting to see the big picture. Hopefully that continues to click for them. We are still too careless with the football on Friday nights. We have to take care of it much better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday.
South Central (1-2) will need to take their game to another level in their Firelands Conference opener on Friday night. Western owns wins over Black River (28-26) and Margaretta (28-14) this year, but they were drilled by defending division four state champion Norwayne (41-13) last Friday night. Brokaw says Western has some big kids. “They have a couple of big offensive lineman that fire out pretty well. I don’t know how much defense those guys play. They are 300 pounders though and they are pretty nasty. They have a fullback that is about 260. He doesn’t concern me as much as they have a couple of wingbacks that are pretty shifty. If we let them get outside on us we could be in trouble,” said Brokaw.
Brokaw was an assistant at Lexington before taking the South Central job and he understands the importance getting a leg up in league play with a win. “It’s a whole new season when you start the conference. It doesn’t really matter what you did in the non-conference schedule. Conference championships are at the top of the priority list. Most times if you take care of the conference championship you’ll take acre of larger goals you have for your program. It’s definitely important to get off to a hot start in you conference schedule,” said Brokaw.
South Central Needs More Effort
Over the first two weeks of the season the South Central Trojans have yet to cross the goal. You can’t win football game doing that.
Columbia Station beat them (40-0) last week and Seneca East shut them out (20-0) in their first game. Coach Aaron Brokaw says last week they didn’t give themselves a chance to win. “We just put the ball on the ground too many times last week. We got off to a rough start. Columbia returned the opening kickoff and then on our first play of offense we had a mistake between our quarterback and fullback and we fumbled. We just turned the ball over too many times and couldn’t get anything going on offense,” said Brokaw.
Crestline (0-2) is at South Central for a non-conference game on Friday night. The Bulldogs have struggled this year too. Northmor beat them (49-35) in week one and Ridgeway Ridgemont handled them (48-14) last week. Brokaw says they have some firepower. “They don’t have a whole lot out as far as numbers this year, but they do have some pretty good athletes. Their quarterback, who doubles as their free safety, is a real nice athlete,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They have been throwing the ball around a little bit, but they also have a sophomore running back that isn’t running too bad either. They are a little bigger up front, but they don’t appear to move as well as they last two teams did. Defensively, they are running a 3-3-5 stack defense.”
This would be one the games on the schedule where the Trojans would have a chance to win and need to take advantage of it, but Brokaw is more worried about how they play. “Anytime you have a chance to win, you want to. The biggest thing right now is we thought we played pretty well in the opener. Last week we were pretty disappointed in the way we played. The important thing right now is everything is new. We just want to see the kids compete and we want to see their best effort. If we are in a situation where we can win, yeah, we want to win. We have to get the top effort out of our guys every time. We have to learn how to play with maximum effort. As the head coach that falls on me too. I have to get the guys ready to go,” said Brokaw.
Just a Little Bit More For South Central
South Central was just a couple plays away from a win on week one, now they need to find a way to get over those hurdles.
It was a 20-0 loss to Seneca East last week, but two of the Tigers touchdowns came with less than two minutes to play.
First year coach Aaron Brokaw says they really had a golden opportunity to score early in the game, but let it slip away. “I thought we played pretty hard at least for the first 46 minutes. It was 6-0 with about two and half minutes left in the game and they ended up scoring two touchdowns on us late. We opened the game with about a 65-yard drive and got stopped on the two-yard-line. After that we had a couple of opportunities when we were inside the 20, but we were never able to finish drives. That is definitely something we have to this week offensively,” said Brokaw.
There are a number of teams that can move it between the 20s, but scoring can be a whole different thing. Brokaw says they had some breakdowns at critical times. “The first drive against Seneca East we just got kind of lazy in our technique. Later on in the game they started to do some stuff different that we hadn’t really seen that much of. That first drive we let them get the best of us,” he said.
On Friday night, the Trojans travel to Columbia Station (0-1.) Brokaw says they will face some athleticism. “They are a very athletic team. They are pretty small in comparison to us, but they definitely have the speed advantage. They lost a close one with about a minute left to Cleveland Central Catholic last week. Hopefully, we are going to see two hungry teams battle it out on Friday night,” Brokaw said.
The Trojans don’t have great speed, but Brokaw says they did a pretty good job controlling the speed with Seneca East by using good angles. He hopes for more of the game this week. “We thought we did a pretty good job with that for the most part last week. Seneca East was the same style of team that Columbia Station is. We did a pretty good job containing their speed until the very end of the game. We are hoping that our kids will have the same kind of success this week and execute just a little bit better,” said Brokaw.
South Central Wants to Pound the Ball
South Central hopes to be physical when they take the field in suburban Attica on Friday night against the Seneca East Tigers in a non-conference game to open the season.
First year coach Aaron Brokaw takes over a 1-9 team and he says they have a lot of work to do if they want to be competitive against most of the teams they play. “We got off to a hot start in our scrimmage. We forced a three and out, scored on our second play of offense, and forced another three and out. After that we couldn’t get anything going offensively and we gave up some long drives. We really didn’t finish off the scrimmage like we started. We were a little bit disappointed by that. We did show that we can do the kind of things we are trying to do this year. We just didn’t sustain it long enough,” he said.
He says right now they lack consistency and they are working hard to be ready to execute on every play no matter what the situation. “That is one of things we are preaching to the kids really hard this year. We don’t have a ton of big play makers that can take it the distance, so we are really preaching that we need to be the best unit on the field. We don’t need the best one or two athletes on the field at one time, but we need to have the best unit on which ever side of the ball we are on,” he said.
Seneca East took out South Central 45-13 in last season’s first game. In scouting them twice, Brokaw says the Tigers are sound, but they don’t have overwhelming athletes. “Well Seneca East has a returning quarterback. I don’t think he is all that big. He looks like he is maybe 5’10” and 170 pounds or so. He throws a nice ball. He is not afraid to hang in there and take the hit. He is definitely the key to their offense,” he told Swankonsports.com, “The also have a nice running back, he’s a 220 pounder. They are running the spread. He doesn’t have a lot of speed, but he is hard to tackle. I’m not really sure about their receivers. They looked good in one scrimmage and mediocre in the other, so a little hit and miss with them.”
Brokaw describes Seneca East as a small and quick defense that can run to the ball. “Defensively they are a 4-4. Their outside linebackers have decent speed. They are quicker up front than we are, but they are a lot smaller, so hopefully we are able to impose our will on them up front, at least that’s the plan,” he said.
With Seneca East again featuring the spread look Brokaw knows they are going to have to be good in space and he hopes their scrimmage schedule has prepared them for that. “That is one of things we have really been working on in our scrimmages. In our scrimmages this year four of the five we got a look against were some sort of spread offense. We have seen a decent amount of it and we have practiced against it a lot in the preseason, so hopefully when Friday night rolls around they are showing us anything that is too much of a surprise from what we have seen from the past couple of weeks,” says Brokaw.
South Central Has a New Coach
Former Clear Fork player and Lexington assistant coach Aaron Brokaw takes over as the new coach of the South Central Trojans.
He has a rebuilding job on his hands as the Trojans were just 1-9 a year ago.
He says the biggest goal he has is to change that attitude of the players on the roster. He says they must believe they can win games. “I have liked the way our offensive line has worked. Our kids have a pretty good work ethic. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the lack of success they have had in recent years or probably a little bit longer. It’s just refiguring their minds so they are able to win and go into contests and think they have a chance and not be defeated before the game starts,” said Brokaw. The most wins for a South Central team in any year in the last 25 is six.
Brokaw says the kids are starting to believe they have a chance to gain some success. “We have a nice group of seniors, but it’s a transition for those guys having played under a completely different group of circumstances throughout their high school career up until now. It’s a little harder sell with those guys, but they are coming along. The younger guys have really bought into what we are trying to do, so that’s exciting going forward,” he said.
Brokaw says with the personnel they have this year they are best suited to run the ball and that is what they are going to feature, but they also want to be a threat to throw it. “Offensively, hopefully, we are going to throw the ball a little bit more than in the past. We are not quite where I would like to be pass game wise. We are working on that. Running game wise we are going to be mostly based out of two back, two receiver sets with some pro style stuff. That is about as fancy as we will get this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Maybe a year or two down the road we might get into some spread stuff. Up front we have some guys that are pretty big, so hopefully we can be a little bit physical and hang our hat on running the ball and have a nice play action package to keep the defense honest this year.”
Defensively, Brokaw believes they have shown improvement, but they have to concentrate on getting better. “We will be primary a 50 defense. We will be able to get into some different looks in different situations. I think we might have a pretty good front seven. Our secondary is coming along right now. They made progress between our first scrimmage and our second scrimmage. We have some work to do. I think we have gotten better after each scrimmage and hopefully that is the case after Friday going into week one,” said Brokaw.
South Central hosts Cardington in their final scrimmage on Friday night. They play Seneca East of the Midland Athletic League in their first game on August 24.
South Central in the Thick of it
The Firelands Conference has been hard to predict this spring and that has made it exciting.
One of the reasons for that unpredictability has been the performance South Central Trojans (5-5,5-1) on the baseball diamond. The Trojans have beaten Crestview (3-0) this season and Western Reserve (2-1) this year. They completed a series sweep of Monroeville with a win (11-7) on Wednesday night.
First year coach Jerry Czernewski says he couldn’t be more pleased with what he has seen this season. “I am extremely happy with the way the guys have been playing. You know, we started out a little slow, but starting to get it together,” he said.
The best part of the Trojans this year, according to Czernewski, has been their approach and the effort they put into the way they prepare for each game. “They have been working hard. They came out with the goal right off the bat to win the conference. So far, they have been trying to do their best. I am extremely happy with the way they work,” he said.
South Central plays Mansfield St. Peter’s on Friday and travels to Buckeye Central, of the North Central Conference, for a doubleheader on Saturday.
Czernewski says his team is enthusiastic, but they need to be more focused sometimes and that is probably due to their youth at least a little bit. “They are just lacking a little experience, especially on the defensive side. We get a little lackadaisical sometimes, so we are trying to keep them motivated and keep them focused. That’s my main concern right now,” he said.
Plymouth leads their conference standings at 7-1, New London and Crestview are 5-3 and Mapleton is 4-4. Czernewski knows that really the meat of their conference schedule still remains to be played. “The last half of conference season here is going to be pretty tough. We have Mapleton, Plymouth and New London and they are all playing pretty good baseball right now,” said Czernewski.
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