Western Reserve Roughriders/Firelands Conference News

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Western Should be Relaxed

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Sheldon

          Western Reserve is looking to be the giant killer on Friday night as they play at undefeated Genoa in a division V sectional final.

          The Riders (11-9) are coming off maybe their best performance of the season in rocking Plymouth (71-35) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.  Frankly, the kind of outing that basketball junkies thought might be more like what Western Reserve could be this year.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were outstanding on both ends.  “I thought offensively we really shared the ball and got great looks, made the extra pass.  Again, we've talked about when we don't take bad shots, we're way more efficient offensively.  Defensively we're really outstanding in getting to shooters and really shutting down Burrer.  That was key for us to be able to you go ahead and stay in the game and then it really got away.  We really were able to go on some runs that they just couldn't answer.  So, excited to end the regular season that way and now you get the #2 team in the state that’s 22-0,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says Genoa has a great big, a tremendous point guard and a number of shooters.  “I wish I could tell you what wasn't good about them. Jeff.  It starts with the Ashland University commit 6’8” Walter Plantz, he can do it all.  He is a load, he's really good off the bounce and he’s got great footwork for a low post guy and great touch,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening. “He's going to get a lot of our attention, but their point guard (Ryan) Routson kid really makes them go.  He’s their engine.  He’s a 5’8” version of Aaron Craft is what I like to call him. Plays at a high motor, pushes the ball offensively, gets it to the front of the rim or sets up the post guy or their shooters.  Then that's the third component, they have got multiple shooters around those two.”

          Sheldon says their defense must be on point, they have to rebound misses, but overall the pressure in this game is squarely on the shoulders of Genoa.  “We're going to have our hands full trying to cover them offensively with making them take tough shots, contested shots and then if we can do that can we rebound the ball because they got some size besides the 6-8 kid.  So, it's a tremendous task for us, but as I told our guys we have got nothing to lose.  They're the team that’s 22-0 and ranked two in the state.  We need to go play free and easy and that should be our mindset walking in there,” he said.

Published 2/26/26

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Western Reserve Must Execute Late

          Western Reserve is down at Plymouth for a game with the Big Red on Friday night in Firelands Conference play.

          It’s a chance for Western to play spoiler as Plymouth must have a win to have a chance to share the conference title.

          Last week, the Riders got a good win over Crestview (64-56) in conference play on Friday, but lost (69-66) to Edison in non-league play on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says it comes down to execution when the pressure is on late in the game.  “What was most impressive was we really executed in the fourth quarter with the game on the line on both sides of the ball.  Something that has really handcuffed us in the previous couple games and then unfortunately it turned around and did it again Saturday night with the game on the line.  Last week it was a microcosm of our whole year.  Play really well Friday and can't put it together on Saturday and then finish a game we've got the lead in.  Unfortunately, we split on the weekend,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I guess that's the beauty of coaching high school basketball is you never even know what you're going to get.  Right now, going into game 20 that's where we're still at.  So, we know it's going to be another great game and we're excited to get an opportunity to compete in it.”

          Western (10-9,8-5) is at Plymouth (14-7,9-4) on Friday.  Plymouth fell out of a share of first when they lost (62-60) to Norwalk St. Paul last Friday.

          The Riders won the first game (82-72) on February 2.

          Sheldon says it will be more difficult this time around with the presence of Plymouth’s leading scorer Jarrett Burrer.  “Well, they're very spurty and they can really shoot the basketball and score in a lot of ways.  We saw that in game one where they hit something like 16, 17 threes versus us and they didn't have Burrer.  So, the ability to knock down shots allows them to go on runs.  Now, this time you have Burrer added to the equation.  You have got to try to stop him, but still get to those shooters and that makes them very, very dangerous.  Then defensively they have got some good length and that could cause people some problems.  So, for us it's the ability trying to make some key reads offensively where we want to attack them defensively, but in the same token it's really going to come down to how well can we defend,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says the key is they have to make plays on both ends down the stretch.  “We know no matter what it’s going to be a close game and it's just going to come down to can we execute.  On nights we've done that we've been able to pull away with good wins in close ball games.  Other nights that we haven't we were really on the short end of it and it's really because of our own doing in a lot of ways.  We don't expect Friday night to be any different,” he said.

Published 2/20/26

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Western Moving Forward

          Western Reserve plays on the road at Crestview in Firelands Conference action on Friday night.

          The Riders are all but out of the conference race, but the Cougars are right there a game back.

          Last Saturday, Western lost (50-45) to Norwalk St. Paul in a conference game.

          Again, coach Chris Sheldon says they couldn’t make the big shot.  “Well, it was a classic small school high school basketball game where neither team could get a lot of consecutive offensive possessions where they're putting balls in the basket.  So, it's just one of the low scoring, grind it out type games.  We were fortunate enough to have the ball at the end of regulation and got wide open look and back ironed it.  Unfortunately for us, we start overtime and we turn it over the first five times.  Still had a chance with the ball to tie the game at the end of overtime and unfortunately we couldn't put the ball in the basket.  Again shot 30 some percent from two and three, so it was both.  We couldn't get it working inside, we couldn't get it going consistently from the outside.  The turnovers ultimately led to two easy baskets for them that allowed them to get enough of a lead that they were able to hold on.  It was sort of a microcosm that played good enough to be there, good enough to win, but we weren't good enough to make the plays when we had to with the game on the line,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (9-8,7-5) is at Crestview (9-9,8-4) on Friday night.  The Cougars beat conference co-leader Plymouth (47-45) last Saturday.

          Crestview also beat Western Reserve (60-53) on January 9.

          Sheldon says they are very versatile.  “They've improved and they’ve probably played the toughest non league schedule of anybody in our league.  They have good length.  They play five guards that have length and that allows them to be very versatile offensively and defensively.  Three of those kids have won a lot of big basketball games and so they're not they're not accustomed to not winning big games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They've done a great job really the second half of the season of bouncing back and putting themselves in the spot where they can compete and still be in this race.  For us, we know that chapter is closed.  We're just trying to find ways here over these last three regular season games that we can make the right play with the game on the line because we know all three games are going to be that way and try to build some momentum as we move into March.”

          Sheldon believes his kids will be ready to play.  “At the end of the day our kids still want to compete.  We've had a very competitive week of practice.  I've been really pleased with our mindset in practice and the ability to compete against each other.  I don't think that that's going to be an issue when we step on the floor and with the lights on.  Our kids are just as frustrated with where we're at as our coaching staff is.  All of us have a hand in that and the results that we've gotten to this point.  As I told them, you can't rewrite the chapters that came before, all you can do is try to write the ending and so that's our focus right now,” he said.

Published 2/013/26

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Western Back in it

          Western Reserve is back knocking on the door in the Firelands Conference just a game behind conference leader Plymouth.

          They play host to Monroeville on Thursday and play at Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday.

          They closed on Plymouth by beating the Big Red (82-72) in a conference game on Monday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they executed very well with the ball in their hands.  “I thought we played really, really well again offensively.  Executing both man and zone offenses very efficiently, but it goes back to we really did a great job being aggressive with the basketball, but not forcing bad shots and making the extra pass. Taking the opportunities when aggressive shots were there and not contested or just making that extra read was really huge for us and catapulted us to a big lead that we were able to sustain for quite a while before they really got hot in the fourth, late in the 3rd and into the fourth where they tried to climb back in it.  Overall, exactly what we needed in a spot we wanted to be in and now we get a hang around at least for another game,” said Sheldon.

          Western (9-6,7-3) host Monroeville (8-5,7-3) on Thursday night.  The Eagles are also tied for second a game behind Plymouth.  They also beat the Big Red (60-57) last Friday.

          Monroeville also beat the Riders (53-43) on December 23.

          Sheldon says they have to find some way to find success against Monroeville.  “We have got to try to find a way to match their physicality.  They have size and we can't do anything about that, but we have got to figure out some schemes and some ways to attack them both offensively and defensively to exploit that.  They did a much better job than we did on both sides of the ball game one and so they deserve to win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “That's what they've done to us honestly for the last year and a half because it's been the same two groups going against each other.  We know what they want to do.  We've tried to attack them in different ways and just haven't been able to match their intensity and energy or the ability to execute as well as them.  I think at the end of the day for us to have a chance to win, and stay in this league race, we've got to do a much better job than what we've done in the last three games against them.”

          The Riders are right there, but Sheldon says the pursuers, including the Riders and Monroeville and Crestview, can’t afford another loss.  “You have really got four teams that are just right there.  We all play each other, other than Monroeville only has to play us.  So, every game the more you can win is going to be magnified, but it also makes it, like in our case, you can't afford another misstep.  Neither can Monroeville or Crestview.  It is entertaining, it's fun, but it goes back to you don't win or lose the league title in February it's a compilation of what you've done throughout the year.  Unfortunately, we put ourselves in such a hole that now in February every game is going to be even that much more important.  So, it's got our attention, we're excited, but in the same token we understand we've got a lot of work in front of us,” he said.

Published 2/04/26

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Western Doing Some Self Examination

          Western Reserve, now three games back in the Firelands Conference, plays at South Central in a conference game on Friday night.

          They lost (65-57) to New London in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says New London wanted it more.  “I think first and foremost they wanted it a little more than we did.  You can see that in a basketball game by who gets the 50/50 balls, who gets second chance opportunities and who's communicating defensively better play in, play out.  As it got tight if the fourth, I thought that their kids did a much better job than we did and that's a credit to them and obviously it's an area of focus for us for a week,” he said.

          Plus, Sheldon says they had too much one on five in the fourth quarter.  “Second, I think one of the things that I've told you from day one our biggest Achilles heel is sometimes we get into a situation, especially under duress, where we think we have got to win the basketball game on one pass or no passes at all.  We went through a stretch there in the fourth when it's a two possession basketball game where we went four quick shots and out.  That was our Achilles heel that allowed them to go the other way and get opportunities to score and they made the most of them and we didn’t.  The next thing you know you're in a hole that you just don't have enough time to dig out,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (7-6,5-3) visits South Central (8-7,3-6) on Friday night.  The Trojans beat St. Paul (60-57) in a league game last Friday.

          The Riders won the first contest (69-39) on December 20.

          Sheldon says South Central has come together since then.  “It was one of those nights where we shot it really well and the momentum carried us and really hindered them in that process.  We know going down to their place it's going to be a much different ball game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They played well as of late, especially almost beating Plymouth and then beat St. Paul and Mansfield Christian here the last week and half.  So, it's going to be a dogfight.  They have got some really good players in June and Chaffee and they're role players when they play well their team tends to play well.”

          Sheldon says the biggest thing is they need to fix what is wrong with them.  “We've have got to get back to focusing though on some of the things that we pointed out this week and really worrying about us executing some of those tasks that we didn't do so well a week before if we want to give ourselves a chance to be competitive come Friday night,” he said.

Published 1/29/26

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Western Reserve Has to Play Great Defense

          Western Reserve has two must win games coming up in Firelands Conference play as they host New London on Friday and Plymouth on Monday.

          They trail the Big Red by two games.

          They put away Mapleton in the second half last Saturday to win (78-54) over the Mounties.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were able to keep playing their game.  “We were only up four at the half.  We didn't play bad in the first half by any stretch.  We just had some breakdowns that cost us.  They made open shots.  It was really competitive for the first half and then we went on a really good run in the third to really put it away and get a 20 point lead.  So, when you're playing a team you should beat you always want to do that.  You feel like you have got to do it in the first four or five minutes and we didn't.  So, it was nice to see us not panic and continue to stay the course and be able to get out there and finally secure a margin that was going to bring us home and win,” said Sheldon.

          Western (7-5,5-2) is at home for New London (8-5,3-4) on Friday night.  The Wildcats lost (72-55) to Crestview in an “FC” game on Saturday.  They beat Black River (84-77) in double overtime on Tuesday.

          The Riders won the first game (60-53) on December 18.

          Sheldon says they have to do a better job of limiting the runs this time.  “They are really good.  They've played with a lot of confidence.  They have great balance.  When you talk about their team, and obviously everybody knows the Thomas kid is a freshman, but all those upperclassmen have been playing varsity basketball for three years and some of them for four.  You've just seen it finally all click for them.  When you play with confidence like they it impacts both offensively and defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They have got a lot of guys that can score it.  All five guys you've got to be able to figure out how you're going to cover and rotate defensively.  For us, the other thing was it was a game of runs the first time around and we were just fortunate enough to make the last run.  I'm sure it's going to be the same thing Friday night.  We have just got to do a better job of limiting the runs and not letting them become 8-0,9-0 runs like we did the first time.  We've got to do a better job at limiting that to try to put us in a better spot to try to get the win.”

          Plymouth (10-2,7-0) comes in on Monday.

          Sheldon says the Big Red stretches you in a number of ways.  “We talked about before they've been the most consistent team in a very challenging league so far.  They've been consistent both offensively and defensively.  They do such a good job with their length of holding you to one shot and out.  If you don't shoot it well it plays really into their advantage.  Then on top of that they have multiple guys that can score it.  So, that that in itself presents a challenge of how you stop the player of the year, but yet get to their other guys.  It's a tough weekend for us with New London on Friday and Plymouth on Monday.  Hopefully, another winter storm comes in and we can push that game back another week or so,” he said.

Published 1/22/26

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Must Win for Western

          Western Reserve entertains Firelands Conference leader Plymouth in a must win for the Riders on Thursday night.

          They trail the Big Red by two games in the conference standings.

          Crestview beat them (60-53) in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they didn’t execute on either end of the floor.  “We missed 12 shots within two feet.  A large part of that obviously is Crestview and what they did defensively and some of their length bothered us.  If you’re going to win close games you have got to be able to shoot a higher percentage than what we did.  We didn't do a great job defensively in the first half.  Did a much better job against them in the second half, not in the first half, and that combination of bad defense and bad offense usually constitutes a loss,” he said.

          Western (6-5,4-2) hosts Plymouth (8-2,6-0) on Thursday night.  Plymouth beat Norwalk St. Paul (63-52) last Friday.  The Big Red has won at least three conference games when trailing at halftime, including last week.

          Sheldon says the Big Red has tremendous depth and they do a fantastic job guarding the paint.  “Well, they have got such great depth.  It starts with (Jarret) Burrer, he's a player of the year in our league, he can do it all.  So, he gets a lot of people's attention, but what's been impressive is their other guys around him from (DaSean) Winfield to (Jackson) Bays, to (Izaya) Reynolds and Kilgore, all of those guys can go get points as well.  So, it's a tough coverage defensively when you're trying to stop a really, really good player, but yet he has four guys around him that can score the basketball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They play really well within the motion.  Defensively they give you some man looks and zone looks.  Burr and Reynolds really do a good job of guarding the paint and really challenging you and as well as (Lex) Grose.  Those guys are big and long inside and that allows their guards to sort of try to wreak some havoc on the perimeter.  So, there's a reason why there's 6-0.  They've been the most consistent team, they've been the most balanced team and they've done that on both sides of the ball to date.”

          Sheldon says there is no question, this is a must win for them.  “We also understand at this point we are two games back.  We have to win this game if we want to stay in this league race.  You have got to protect home floor and that's going to be a great challenge for us.  It's something we’re excited to get the opportunity to go do,” he said.

Published 1/14/26

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Western Reserve Getting Better

          Western Reserve, a game back in the Firelands Conference, plays at home against Crestview in the conference game on Friday night.

          They have Huron in a non-league test on Saturday.

          They beat rival Norwalk St. Paul (66-54) an “FC” game last Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon thought they played pretty well on both ends.  “I thought we really, especially early on, made the extra pass and got a lot of open looks and we were able to knock down shots and that gave us a lot of momentum early and were able to build up a double digit lead in the first half and keep it right there throughout the game and really keep them at arm's distance.  So, that was good to see us finally make a bunch of shots that we haven't been making.  So, that was a big positive on the offensive side.  Defensively, we held their two best players in 19 points combined and really did a tremendous job of making it harder on them all night long and frustrating them.  That combination was a winning formula for us and something we have got to continue to build upon,” said Sheldon.

          The key is, according to Sheldon, they have to be able to play that way for the whole game.  “You see small increments of us we're really starting to understand if we just make the extra pass we're a lot harder to guard offensively.  The thing we still have got to do is we got to do that for 32 minutes and so far we've done it in spurts.  You see growing signs of it for us and getting better, but there's still some work to be done there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Defensively, we've definitely gotten better of really not giving up easy opportunities for our opponent.  I think when you limit your opponent to getting easy looks and transition or second chance opportunities it's just going to escalate your opportunity to be able to win night in and night out.  That formula for us has got to continue to be consistent on the defensive side of the ball.”

          Western (6-3,4-1) will be at home for Crestview (3-6,2-3) on Friday night.  The Cougars lost (55-54) to Highland in a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          Sheldon says they have three kids they need to limit.  “They got great length.  Play a lot of guards and that can create some problems for you defensively.  It starts with their three returners that have played in a lot of big basketball games with Wells, Goon, and Spoerr and those three can all play.  Their role guys are now getting to the point of the year where it's middle of the year and they're now getting comfortable with the varsity level.  You've seen that with close losses at Monroeville and with Plymouth.  So, we know we're going to get tremendous basketball game.  We've got to be prepared to hopefully slow those three down while still being able to get to their role players as well.  They can do some things offensively and it's going to be a great challenge for us,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/07/26

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Western Working on Mind

          Western Reserve, a game back in the Firelands Conference standings, hosts rival Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday night.

          On Monday, they beat Norwalk (46-29) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they took better shots in the second half.  “We didn't play a very good first half, especially offensively.  We got into that bad habit that has a tendency to creep up on us, and it's been sort of our Achilles heel, in forcing some quick shots.  When quick shots don't go in it really puts you in a disadvantage of one trying to be able to get second chance opportunities because you haven't made the defense move and two your opponents gets out in transition and then that causes some problems,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We were only up two at half and we really talked about that.  In the second half we finally quick settling for quick shots and instead started attacking the basket.  That ramped up our defense and it got us in a good rhythm in the second half.  That's got to be how we play the game on the offensive end, which helps our defense and allows us to be more effective.  That's something we have got to continue to try to build on as we continue to move through the season.”

          Western (5-3,3-1) entertains Norwalk St. Paul (5-4,1-3) on Saturday night.  The Flyers won their first conference game last Saturday (69-29) over Mapleton.

          Sheldon says they have kids that can balance the floor.  “I really like their group.  The Fries kid is a senior and has been through the wars.  He's been a part of a league championship team, he's been to the regionals, and he really gets them going.  We've got to do a great job of containing him.  Then they've got shooters around him and a couple bigs that are really active.  When they played well the shooters get good looks and Fries gets going and those bigs are active.  So, we've got to do a great job of slowing Fries down, but still getting to those shooters and really trying to keep their bigs off the glass,” he said.

          Sheldon says from this point forward they have to have better focus in games.  “We've played six of our first eight on a road and now we get six in a row at home.  We know night in and night out our league is going to be a grind we’ve been telling our kids that from the get go.  When your league is that competitive you can't take anything lightly.  You really have got to get back to focusing on what your key reads are, both offensively and defensively.  That all starts with your mindset and that's where we've got to continue to build on that and getting more consistent with our mind frame more than anything.  If we can do that we can stay in these games and try to stay in this league race,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/01/26

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Western Plays Well, Takes Steps

          Western Reserve will be down the road at Monroeville to take on the Eagles in a Firelands Conference game on Tuesday night.

          The Riders (4-2,3-0) share first place in the conference standings early in the year with Plymouth.

          They rallied the second half to beat New London (60-53) last Thursday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were able to make plays down the stretch.  “The game in New London was a game that was a good high school basketball game.  It was really a game of runs.  They started with a small one and we had a nice run and then they really countered with a tremendous run in the second quarter and we are down 11 at the half.   We just had to chip away and we did.  We really closed the third quarter well to finally take the lead back.  In the fourth quarter it was back and forth and we fortunately made a couple more plays with the game on the line and they did and we were able to come out with a tough hard fought league win.  We really showed some grit and the ability to continue to just play the game through the runs.  That's something in the past that maybe we hadn't done really well and it was a good sign for us to see,” said Sheldon.

          On Saturday night, they smoked South Central (69-36) and Sheldon says they were able to give a consistent, solid effort.  “We really played well from the opening get go to the end against South Central.  I think the biggest thing for us was we did a great job on their two best players and then we really shared the ball offensively.  Again, some things we have been harping on a lot.  We don't need one guy to carry us, we have just got to use the strength of our numbers to our benefit and that just requires you to make the easy basketball play.  Hopefully, we continue to do that and build upon that,” he said.

          Sheldon says a big key for them going forward is continuing to be unselfish with the ball.  “It was something we knew going in the offseason that making the extra pass was going to be critical.  We saw previous years, especially with a lot of these same guys back, that when we got tunnel vision with the basketball and a scorers mindset and that's all we focused on and we tended to struggle against teams that were as good as us or better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We had to still go through a little bit of that there beginning of the year and hopefully this starts to really open up our eyes to seeing if we play the style of what we're trying to ask kids to do, and we don't care who scores, we just care ultimately about trying to make the right basketball play to give us the best chance to win night in and night out.  Then we have got a chance to be pretty good.  It's a good step in the right direction, but now can we sustain it as the next step.”

          Monroeville (3-1,2-1) beat Crestview (59-58) last Thursday.  Their only loss is to Plymouth (75-72) by three.

Sheldon says this is team that wants to be physical.  “They're really big and physical.  They play to their strengths.  It starts with the (Cole) Perry kid in the low post, probably the best post player in our league.  He's really taking his game to another level.  The (Maverick) Myers kid is really good on the perimeter.  They have got some really nice role players and just play within themselves and next to those two.  Those two are going to get a lot of attention from us, but you can't forget about those other guys because they've shown the ability to make some shots, make some plays and get on the glass.  It's going to be physical and another tough league game mom.  That's sort of the way this league is starting to play out to be.  We have got to be ready to accept that challenge and compete for 32 minutes,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/23/25

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Western With Two Tough “FC” Games

          Western Reserve, one of the contenders in the Firelands Conference, plays at New London on Thursday and at home with South Central on Saturday night in conference games.

          The Riders (2-2,1-0) overwhelmed Mapleton (81-38) in conference play last Friday.

          Through four games, coach Chris Sheldon says they have found some plusses and minuses.  “We've been able to see some of the things we're doing well and there are plenty of things that we've got to get corrected.  With four games under your belt there's plenty of film that tells you those things and allows you to use them hopefully as teachable moments and try to work on them in practice and really try to take the next steps in getting better as we're finishing up the first part of the season they start entering the second quarter of it,” he said.

          New London (3-0,1-0) beat Crestview (63-53) last Friday in their conference opener.

          Sheldon the Wildcats have turned the corner.  “You saw that last year in the second half of the year where Tommy's kids really started to gain some confidence and they were in a lot more basketball games night in and night out.  Now they've carried that over into this year and are clearly playing well.  Not just the freshman, but the seniors that they have back that have played a lot of basketball.  It's really clicking for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're sharing them basketball very well.  They go eight deep and that allows them some versatility.  As Tommy's teams always do they play a multitude of different defensive looks.  Then his classic motion offense that they run very, very well.  We're going to have a tough test, there's no doubt about it.  It's like I said to you on Saturday, I really feel like there's seven of our eight teams right now in our league can beat you at night in and night out.  It's going to be one of those grinders and we know that we've got to be prepared for that come (Thursday) night.”

          South Central (3-2,0-1) was hammered by Plymouth (88-56) last Friday.  Still Sheldon says they have a lot of pieces.  “The (Wes) June kid is really good and so is the (Bryan) Chaffee kid, even through he is about a 6’, 6’1” post player.  He really battles and contributes to bring value to both ends of the floor for that team.  Their role players can knock down shots.  You look at the Plymouth game and they just went through such a cold streak there and Plymouth then couldn't miss.  It's like it just unraveled for them.  If you look at the rest of their films and what they've done so far, they've been really, really consistent at scoring the basketball and trying to play an up tempo style.  We're going to have to be able to communicate a lot and at the defensive end with some of their tempo and really try to slow down their two best players in June and Chaffee,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/18/25

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Western Must Respond

          Western Reserve plays two important games this week as they play at Vermilion in non-conference play on Thursday and travel to Mapleton for the Firelands Conference opener on Friday.

          It was like day and night last week as the Riders smoked Firelands (76-46) on Tuesday and they put together a poor effort in losing (64-21) to Keystone on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says Saturday they did respond and that was disappointing.  “Opening night against Firelands we made nine threes.  We made the extra pass and didn’t turn the ball over and that allowed us to get a lot of looks offensively and score 70 some points.  Then you flip the script against the best team on our schedule and we failed miserably at it taking care of the basketball and then it led to a lack of energy and effort on 50/50 plays.  We allowed that mentally the momentum to swing so much that we didn't bounce back.  We lacked a lot of toughness on that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “That was some of the mentality that we've really been challenging our guys that for us to continue to take the next step those things can't happen.  Mistakes are going to happen, but the ability to bounce back though has to be consistent and we didn't do that.  So, that’s how you get embarrassing losses.  That's on all of us regardless how good that team is a basketball team with eight returning letter winners should never have to experience.  Unfortunately, we still have some lessons to learn.”

          Western plays at Vermilion (2-1) on Thursday.  The Sailors hammered Norwalk (55-31) on Tuesday in non-conference play.

          Sheldon says this should be a very interesting test.  “That's another good non conference game for us.  It's typically our been our opener, but with our football team it got pushed back.  Honestly, I'm excited that's who we get to play and coming off of what we've just experienced because we're going to be put under some defensive pressure.  We're going to be challenged mentally and physically and I'm excited to see on a short turn around how well we respond. Are we going to live in the past or are we going to learn from it and grow.  That's been our message all week to our guys.  This a good challenge that we get to do right away coming off of what we did to really see with three practices under our belt and some film study if we grasp where we fell short on that the last time out,” said Sheldon.

          Western looks to have the kind of talent to compete for a Firelands Conference title and Sheldon knows the visit to Mapleton on Friday will be very important.  “Anytime you're trying to play in league games you just want to go 1-0 on that night regardless who you're playing.  We know they've got a new coach and a lot of new players.  So, we're going to have to make sure we go down there regardless of what happens Thursday night ready to compete for 32 minutes because you can't afford to go on the road and get down 0-1 in the league right out of the gate,” he said.

Published 12/11/25

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Western Must Guard Paint

          Western Reserve tips off the season on Tuesday night as they host Oberlin Firelands in a non-conference game.

          Veteran coach Chris Sheldon says his kids are ready.  He says they must be able to bounce back from the mistakes they make.  “I think our guys are hungry and ready to get out there and compete when it matters the most.  You definitely feel that sense of energy leading up to opening night and our guys have that look about them right now, but at the end of the day it's opening night for both teams and the only thing I would say about opening night is to expect to the unexpected,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Somebody's going to play really well that maybe you didn't anticipate playing well and then there's going to be multitude of mistakes that happen because it's opening night.  It’s how do you weather those mistakes and can you regroup and bounce back and that's going to be the biggest challenge for us as we go about it in opening night.”

          Sheldon says their experience will likely help them on opening night, but he says the real key is containing the big guys in the Firelands lineup.  “That should help us you'd like to think with having eight guys that are letter winners back.  I think after they all get their first three, four minute run hopefully we settle down and it becomes natural for us to just go play, but Firelands has just got two really good post players that are going to cause problems for us.  We've got to be able to put a lot of bodies on them and keep them off the glass because otherwise a lot of their shots are going to be point blank and those are hard to not get in rhythm when your strength with their team is scoring in the paint.  That's probably an area that might be a little bit of a weakness for us.  So, it's a good first test and we're excited to go out and see what we can do,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says their guards must get good ball pressure and limit the touches Firelands gets in the paint.  “We've talked about that.  We've got to put a lot of pressure on their guards to try to help us be able to guard their post guys.  If we can do that, I think that we can cause them some problems for sure, but at the end of the day you still have got to go out and do it,” he said12/02/25

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Western Working Hard to Prepare

          Western Reserve returns a wealth of talent to the boys’ basketball roster they work to get ready for a season that is just around the corner.

          They open the season December 2 against Oberlin Firelands.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they got a late start, but things are rounding into shape.  “We had a late start.  We've had four practices because of our guys doing a heck of a job making it the second round of football playoffs and then you have got to give them a little bit of time to just step away and allow their mind and body to heal as best as it can.  We look like some guys that haven't picked up a ball for a little bit because of that football run, but at the same token you have got you got seven returning letter winners.  They can pick up on schemes fairly quickly because it's not their first time doing this.  So, that that helps speed up that process when you have a football run like we did,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says their varsity experience allows them to spend less time on some things, but they still have work on fundamentals.  “They pick up on concepts and things that we've done and even wrinkles that we're adding and some new things that we're trying and it allows you to not have to take as many baby steps, but also at this time of year it's important not to skip the baby steps as well because even though they are returners they still need to do fundamental work at this time of year on both sides of the ball,” he said.

          Sheldon says it’s a balance when it comes to working on fundamentals and conditioning.  “The more skilled you are the better your techniques.  The more that those things are going to show up over 32 minutes and that's really going to give you a better opportunity to be more consistent than anything.  So, for us right now it's obviously balancing that while also still trying to get basketball shape,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “When seven of your top ten play football for a lot of those guys it’s that transition from soft surface to the hard service.  From only having to play hard for seven or eight seconds before you get a little bit of a breather and then have to go again.  That's really the biggest obstacle for us at this point. Then your body adapting to the pounding on the hard surface that your knees, your ankles, the soreness you have got to work your way through to where you finally hopefully after two or three weeks you really get your basketball legs under you.”

Published 11/19/25

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Western Can’t Make Mistakes

          Western Reserve, the Firelands Conference runner-up, plays at Hopewell-Loudon, the “SBC” River runner-up, in regional quarterfinal in division VI six on Friday night.

          In the opening round, the Riders (9-2) rallied to edge Bluffton (35-31) last Friday.  Landyn Wiegel scored on a TD run with 2:16 left for the go ahead score.

          It was just the fourth playoff win in school history and coach Ty Stevenson says they got great play on both sides of the ball.  “It was a great win for our program, great win for the kids.  Really excited to be able to play the way we did.  Really we only gave up three defensive touchdowns.  I thought we held an offense that averages in the mid 40s down to 21, so that was good.  A field goal that shouldn't have happened at the end of the half and then a pick six, so overall we played great.  Our offense really stepped up late in the game there and got a score.  Cooper Roe forced a fumble there with about five minutes ago down four points I think we were.  We score and got a two point conversion and then sealed the deal on defense with a win, so that was fun,” said Stevenson.

          Wiegel leads the Firelands Conference in rushing with 1,147 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season.

          Hopewell-Loudon (9-1) had a 31 game regular season winning streak snapped by Margaretta (29-26) on October 3.

          Stevenson says they are very sound fundamentally.  “They are good at every place offense, defense, special teams, coaching wise.  Yoi can tell they are taught the game really well.  They're not going to make mistakes. They're going to make you beat them one way or another,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're not going to make mistakes.  They're going to play really good, sound, fundamental football.  They're big and physical up front.  They can run it or throw it.  Play really good, sound, fundamental defense.  It will be a tough night.”

          Jacoby Ellis leads the River Division in passing yards, touchdown passes, and passing efficiency this season, but Stevenson says with that big offensive line they run it a lot.  “They're a little heavier on the run side.  I think they're like 65 or 68% run, but they can definitely throw it you're able to force them to do that.  They have some big hogs up front that really block the run game really well.  That's going to be a great challenge for us,” he said.

          Stevenson says they feel pretty good about themselves going into Friday night.  “Our kids are really excited to get to play a week 12 game, that doesn't happen a whole lot around here, so that's a great thing for them.  I think they feel pretty good coming off the win last week and we're hopeful we could go out and start fast and really build some confidence again on Friday night and see where it goes,” said Stevenson.

Published 11/05/25

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Western Must Contain QB

          Western Reserve heads for Bluffton to meet the Pirates in a first round playoff game in division VI on Friday night.

          The Riders (8-2) beat New London (47-0) in a Firelands Conference game last week.  They have pitched four straight shutouts.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they are just happy to be playing week 11.  “It feels like we're about as healthy as we've been all year and sometimes at the end of a football season it's not that way.  So, we're excited about where we're at.  We're excited about getting another opportunity to play again this week,” he said.

          Bluffton (8-2) won a regional championship last year.  The Pirates lost a shootout (48-38) to Columbus Grove last week.

          Stevenson calls them explosive and are led by quarterback Tayte Giesige.  “They have got a quarterback, who also plays safety, that is kind of a division one recruit that can do a lot of things.  He’s one of these dual threat quarterbacks.  He can throw it about a mile and half and he can run it.  Plays really good at safety as well.  They are big up front, they have got a lot of a lot of guys that block really well.  They have got four receivers that can run around and catch footballs.  The running back is good as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're pretty balanced I think there's 60-40 pass to run.  So, that makes things tough on your defense.  On defense, they play 3-4 and got a lot of guys that can fly to the football and they look like they play hard as well.”

          Stevenson says they have to contain Giesige.  They can’t allow him to eat them up.  “There's no doubt that the number one deal this week is you have got to be able to tackle quarterback.  You have got to be able to make sure you know where he is and make sure there's some eyes on him, but if you put too many guys on him obviously he can throw the ball too, so you got to be careful not to over commit to that.  If you don't get him tackled it could be a long night,” said Stevenson.

          Western has scored a bunch of points this year and especially with the return of quarterback Hayden Keith from injury are explosive themselves.

          Steveson says they have to get on the scoreboard.  “You have to score that's the name of the game to score points.  These days things are tilted a lot towards the offense.  We'd be happy to win 2-0.  We'd be happy to win 65-62 if we had too.   So, we'll take a “W” anyway we can get it as long as our kids play hard, we'll be happy,” he said.

Published 10/29/25

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Western Digging in

          Western Reserve has an opportunity to share the Firelands Conference title, but they are going to need some help.

          However, if they beat New London on Friday night they are in the division VI playoffs for sure.

          In a game where there was a running clock from the opening kick, the Riders blanked Plymouth (40-0) last week.  The Riders defense has not been scored on the last three weeks.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they have the right approach last week against Plymouth.  “I thought we came out sharp.  I talked to them that their job is to play as hard as they can as long as they're in.  I thought our kids did a really good job of that.  We were able to get a couple scores there early and then barely get a third score before the half with that running clock and it kind of went from there.  So, happy with the overall performance.  Anytime you get a win on the road is a good thing,” said Stevenson.

          Western (7-2,5-1) hosts New London (3-6,1-5) on Friday night.  The Wildcats lost (32-0) to South Central last week in a conference game.

          Stevenson says they are trying to build the program.  “They're trying and they got more kids out this year.  They have the good freshman class.  They continue to chip away and continue to work at this thing.  Their coach is doing a good job trying to get them motivated to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We are going to have to play hard. It's our senior night, so we're excited to get our guys on the field one last time in regular season.  If things work out well maybe they can get one more home playoff game, so we're excited for any Friday night.”

          In terms of the conference, they have to count on Norwalk St. Paul beating Monroeville for them to get a share. 

          Stevenson says the playoffs are totally within their control.  “It says control your own destiny so that's all you can ask for on week 10, control your own destiny,  Make sure you play well and hope that you're able to get a win.  Then you watch Joe Eitel Friday night figure out who you play start heading that way,” he said.

Published 10/22/25

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Riders Have to Win

          Western Reserve is at Plymouth for a game against the Big Red on Friday night in Firelands Conference action.

          Heading into this week, the Riders (6-2,4-1) trail Monroeville by a game in the conference standings.

          Last week, they hammered Crestview (34-0) to knock the Cougars out of a share of the conference lead.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they were at their best.  “I thought our kids had a great night.  All three phases offense, defense, special teams.  Anytime you are able to hold an offense like that down as well as we did give credit to our defense.  I thought the kids played really well and we were able to score enough points to get a win,” said Stevenson.

          Senior Hayden Keith returned from injury to throw five touchdown passes against Crestview.

          Stevenson says he was happy to get Keith back in the lineup.  “He played quarterback first time since week one, so that was I was happy for him and that he was able to play.  Colt Meagrow played great lead up to that point so getting him back in time and getting a senior back is always good,” he said.

          Plymouth (1-7,1-4) was smoked (55-0) by Monroeville last week.

          Stevenson says the Big Red doesn’t have much depth, but they have to take this game seriously.  “Well, you know Plymouth was 7-0 with Monroeville after the first quarter.  They're 14-0 with us at halftime last year, so you know they do a good job of running their stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have got some younger guys that they have to play right now because of their numbers, but they really play hard and try to do things pretty well.  So, we have got to make sure that we don't overlook them and we're ready to go.”

          Stevenson says to have any chance to share that conference title they have to win this week and next week against New London.  “We absolutely have to win.  We have got to make sure we take care of these next two weeks and hopefully either the Cougars or the Flyers give us a little bit of help and we’ll see where it's at when it's all over,” he said.

Published 10/15/25

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Western Has to Have This One

          Western Reserve hosts Crestview in a game they must win on Friday night in the Firelands Conference action.

          They trail Crestview and Monroeville by game with three to play.

          After losing (27-20) to Monroeville, they got back on the winning track last week with a (39-0) blanking of South Central in a conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they shifted it into a higher gear in the second half of the game.  “Definitely the second half was really good.  The first half was kind of a slow start with penalties and a turnover that kind of stopped a couple of drives.  So, it took a little bit to get going.  It was only 13-0 at the half.  Then we talked a little bit at halftime I thought we really got going better in the second half.  We were able to get some young guys in late in the game, so that's always nice.  We had a freshman running back score a touchdown.  So, we like it,” said Stevenson.

          Western (5-2,3-1) plays at home against Crestview (5-2,4-0) on Friday night.  The Cougars held of Norwalk St. Paul (30-21) in a “FC” play last week.

          Stevenson says they have a lot of weapons.  “Well, there's nothing that’s not good about Crestview. The (Lium) Kuhn kid is a three year starter at quarterback.  He looks really good.  They're big up front and they have got #55 the (Jack) Stevens kid.  The tight end (Karter) Goon is doing really good, the running backs (Ayden) Reymer and (Bransen) Hidler can run the ball very well. So, they are a really good football team that just beat St. Paul last week and anytime you can do that, that’s good, so it will be a tough challenge, said Stevenson.

          Crestview still has its power run game, but Lium Kuhn at quarterback gives them another dimension, according to Stevenson. “They're a balanced football team.  They can run or pass it.  He can throw about any route on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “If you want to throw post route, he can throw post routes. You want to throw deep outs, he can throw deep outs, he can get out of the pocket.  I'll tell you that he can run it really well too, he's fast.  He’s got a big body that he can run around and stuff.  So, he's a difference maker for them.”

          Coaches are always talking about taking them one at time, but Stevenson says they have to have win this one.  “Everyone is, but you definitely have got to have this one,” he said.

Published 10/07/25

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Western Reserve Has to Bounce Back

          Western Reserve will be down the road at South Central for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          It’s probably a must win for the Riders as they now trail Monroeville and Crestview by a game in the conference standings.

          They dropped a tough one (27-20) to Monroeville last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they played hard, but they just didn’t get it done on the scoreboard.  “It was a good high school football game.  Two good teams going at.  I really questioned how hard our guys played in that first loss against Margaretta.  That was not something that was an issue this time.  We played hard.  I was proud of the way our guys played and the effort put forth.  You are never going to be too upset about that.  Obviously, we always want to get a win in a big Firelands Conference game, but it doesn’t always happen.  So, you have got to come back ready to go this week and meet the next challenge.”

          Stevenson feels they have bounced back the week in practice so far.  “It's a little harder to get going on Monday, but it's something that you have got to do.  The kids were pretty sore and that's a good, physical team that Monroeville has.  Some linemen and some linebackers that hit really hard.  So, it took us maybe an extra day to get moving, but we're back to full speed and excited to get going this week,” he said.

          Western Reserve (4-2,2-1) is at South Central (1-5,1-2) on Friday night.  The Trojans earned their first win of the season in beating Mapleton (38-20) in a conference game last week.

          Stevenson says they have to have good focus because the Trojans can burn you.  “They are 1-0 in the last seven days and we are not 1-0 in the last seven days.  So, we we've talked to our guys about that.  We have got to make sure that our heads are in the right spot and we're playing hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They have got some athletes over there.  They have two 300 pound tackles up front.  The Blair kid is supposed to be back this week.  So, I expect a great challenge and we're going to play really well to make sure we get a “W” this week.”

Published 10/02/25

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Western Has to Prove it

          Western Reserve plays it second big game in a row in the Firelands Conference on Friday night as they host the Monroeville Eagles.

          Last week, they played outstanding football in beating Norwalk St. Paul (46-14) on Friday.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they really played well.  “Our kids came out and they were locked in all week and had great practice and that transferred into really good performance.  I've said this on record probably one of the better ones that we've had in the eight years that I've been here.  Really proud of the way we stepped up and the way we played.  I thought all the way around, all three phases, were really, really good,” he said.

          Running back Landyn Wiegel ran for 169 yards and five touchdowns against St. Paul.  Quarterback Colton Meagrow completed 12 of 12 passes for 138 yards.

          Now, last year, Western also beat St. Paul and then were blown out by Monroeville.

          Stevenson says Friday they have to prove how good they are.  “We beat St. Paul last year then laid an egg against Monroeville, so we've talked about that.  We've put that head straight in front of us.  We've hit that thing head on.  We're attacking this this week very good.  We're excited for chance to play a big game on Friday night.  We've talked about back in the day when we used to play pig and horse whenever you would get that last letter, you'd have to prove it.  We've talked about this is one of those prove it games.  You have got to go out and you have got to make things happen again to prove that you're the team that you looked like last week,” said Stevenson.

          Western (4-1,2-0) is at home for Monroeville (3-2,2-0) on Friday night.  The Eagles smoked New London (55-13) last week.

          Monroeville shared the “FC” title last season St. Paul and Stevenson says they have just reloaded.  “Well, people want to tell you that they lost all these players, and they lost some really good football players, but I'll tell you they replaced them with ones that I think are just as good,” he told Swanknsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They can fly around still this quarterback is it's fast and elusive, just like (Evan) Benfer was.  The running backs are just as good.  The line is just good up front.  They're certainly winning a lot of football games.  Very physical again.  They are well coached.  So, it's a great challenge and we're proud of ourselves putting ourselves in position to win or to play football games like this.”

          Stevenson says a key Friday night is they have to be able to defend the whole field.  “You have got to make sure that you are solid all the way around on both sides of the football.  Make sure your sound because they're very well balanced and they can both run it and throw it in equal ways and you got to make sure take care of that,” he said.

Published 9/26/25

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Western to Face a Different St. Paul

          Western Reserve will be down the road at Norwalk St. Paul in a key early season game between contenders in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.

          They walloped Mapleton (43-2) last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says it’s always good to win that first league game.  “Anytime you get a win it's good, especially the conference opener.  There were certainly some lopsided scores in our league this past week.  I talked about last week coach (Mitch) Young is a great football coach at Mapleton and he'll get that thing going.  You have got to keep on the course and keep rolling with it,” he said.

          Landyn Wiegel ran for 132 yards and a score last week.  Colton Meagrow only threw eight passes, but three were for touchdowns.

          St. Paul (2-2,1-0) also had an easy time last week in thumping Plymouth (57-0) in a conference game.

          Stevenson says it some ways it’s classic St. Paul, but they are throwing the ball a lot more.  “This quarterback can really throw it.  They're throwing the ball a lot more.  Little more spread formations.  I think they're taking advantage of the athletes they have.  They can still line up that T and that double tight stuff and they're run it right down your throat.  So, probably a little more balance with what they're doing this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have some really good athletes on the defensive side of the ball again.  They're flying around making plays and causing turnovers and everything else.  So, a very well coached as always and great kids that play really hard.  So, you're going to have to match that intensity.  Match the things that they do if you want a shot to get a win.”

          Grant Kuhnle has thrown for 840 yards and six touchdowns this year for the Flyers.

          St. Paul always seems to have good special teams and Stevenson says they can’t get beat there on Friday.  “They have a field goal kicker that can kick pretty good field goals.  They always protect things and are able to able to run a good kickoff team and a good punt team.  So, special teams are always big in big games.  You have to make sure that doesn’t beat you on special teams and help yourself get a win that way would be even better,” said Stevenson.

          Nate Griffin beat Tiffin Calvert (22-20) with a late field goal on week three.

          In big games with good teams, Stevenson says turnovers are always a big factor in the outcome.  “Coach Jim Tressel always said you need to end every possession with a kick whether that's a punt or an extra point you feel pretty good about yourself.  When you end up handing them the ball at midfield or even worse than that usually that's not a good sign for success,” he said.

Published 9/17/25

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Western Has to be Disciplined

          Western Reserve will be at home on Friday night to open Firelands Conference play against the Mapleton Mounties.

          Last week, the Riders (2-1,0-0) smoked Wynford (46-0) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says it was great to get back on the winning track after a loss to Margaretta (21-0) the week before.  “I thought especially coming off the way we had played the week before that felt really good to really kind of get things back going again and play some good complementary football.  I'll tell you this Locker kid and the Stover kid from Wynford are both really good.  So, we're happy to get a win last week and looking forward to open conference play this week,” he said.

          It is homecoming week at Western Reserve and that can lead to distractions, but Stevenson thinks they will be fine.  “Well, a lot of people in the school and a lot of parents who want to focus on the homecoming dance, but we try to tell them it's still important to win that game on Friday night because that makes the whole weekend a heck of a lot better.  There's a lot of distractions during homecoming week, but honestly our student council advisor does a great job all week.  She's also the lady it's always on our sidelines taking a bunch of great pictures.  So, we're very appreciative of her and how she handles homecoming.  So, it will be a big week and hopefully we can play well,” Stevenson.

          Mapleton (1-2,0-0) edged Crestline (35-28) last week for their first win of the season.

          Stevenson says there is a lot misdirection in their offense and the Riders must be disciplined.  “They’ve had some up and down a little bit, but I know that they have got some really good players over there.  Coach (Mitch) Young and coach Young's dad (Al), obviously he was legend at Black River, so they're doing good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They have got some good players that can make some plays.  You have to make sure you block your rules and tackle well.  That wing-T that they run there's a lot of counters and a lot of misdirection stuff in it, so it makes it really tough on your linebackers to make sure they read keys and not get caught looking at the wrong things.”

Published 9/12/25

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Western Must be Better

          Western Reserve is attempting to pick up the pieces as they host Wynford in their home opener on Friday night in non-conference action.

          They were blanked last week by Margaretta (21-0) on Friday night.

          Coach Ty Stevenson is honest.  He says they didn’t play very well.  “The truth of it is we didn't play good enough football.  We didn't execute very well.  At times I didn't think we played hard enough.  We put examples on film of things we need to do better mentally, do better physically,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We're going to go work on those this week.  Worked on those (Monday) morning.  So, we're going to try to get better and continue to push forward and make sure that we put a better product on the field than we did Friday night.”

          Hayden Keith, the Riders (1-1) starting quarterback, has only played a few downs this season.

          Stevenson says they have their fingers crossed that he can be back on Friday night.  “He played got hurt the third series of week one.  He hope he will be back at some point.  We would like that to be this week, but we will take that as he's comfortable doing it and when he's ready to play we'll let him go,” he said.

          Wynford also (1-1) beat East Knox (28-12) last week.

          Stevenson says they have some kids that can do some things on offense. “They’re big, this (Bryce) Locker kid a running back is really good.  The tight end is a three or four year starter, the quarterback runs it pretty well, throws it too.  Their offensive line is big,” he told Swankonsports.com Monday afternoon, “They play really hard.  They were really excited watching on them on film.  They're really excited and doing some pretty good things against East Knox.  It'll be a really tough matchup.  We'll have to play much, much better than we did Friday night.”

Published 9/02/25

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Western Has to Limit Big Play

          Western Reserve takes its act to Castalia to lock horns with Margaretta in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          The Riders won their first game pretty easily (45-6) over Wellington.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they played pretty well, especially on defense.  “Definitely happy anytime you can get a win week one.  I thought for the most part the kids executed really well.  We had a backup quarterback come in and play the vast majority of the game and he did a great job for us.  Really proud of the way Colt Meagrow played Friday night.  Our defense was really good.  I think they had probably about 100 yards total offense and I think about 45 of those were on one kind of trick play.  Anytime you can hold the opponent to 100 yards total offense it's a really good night for your defense,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says they were on point in practice this week and they had to be because they are in for a battle on Friday night.  “We've had a great week of practice.  It feels like our kids are locked in and focused on what we’re trying to do here.  We play a very good Margaretta football team,” he told Swankopnsports.com on Thursday evening, “This Jude Keller kid is one of the best athletes around.  They have got really good size up front and then they got these two Bailey kids, I think their brothers maybe, those guys can go to the house at any point in time.  So, it’s a really tough matchup for us and we're looking forward to it.”

          Margaretta lost (21-20) to Vermilion when the Sailors scored with about two minutes to play last week.

          Stevenson says they can’t let the Polar Bears have the big play.  “We have to win in the trenches.  Win the turnover battle and limit big plays.  I think they scored three times last week and I think all three of them were on plays of maybe 60 plus yards.  Their scrimmages, same deal.  They’re hitting big plays.  So, we can't give up a lot of big, explosive plays and expect win football games.  We have got to keep people in front of us, tackle really well, and play hard,” he said.

Published 8/29/25

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Western Reserve Ready to Get Started

          Western Reserve plays it first game of the season on Friday night at Wellington, a familiar opponent.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says he believes they are ready to go.  “I think we have a little bit of advantage this year because we have got a lot of guys back, so that definitely helps speed up the process and a little bit.  You're planning all spring and winter long and you get summer it feels like that there’s all this time, and you got all this time, and all of a sudden it's game week.  You hope you've got them prepped enough that they're going to be able to compete well on Friday night.  You try to get most things covered before week one gets here.  So, we feel like we're in a pretty good spot and we're excited to get this thing rolling and see how we do,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson also says that experience, they have almost everyone back, will help with those first game jitters.  “Hopefully, we're the more experienced team most of the games that we play this year and hopefully we play like it.  You can have experience and not play well still.  You have got a hold on to the football and got to take care of those things and make sure that read your keys the right way and make sure that you're flying to the football.  If you can do those things hopefully, we play well and we’ll see where the chips fall,” he said.

          Western won this game (34-23) last year.

          Stevenson says Wellington will provide a good matchup for them in the opener.  “We've played Wellington week one since my second year.  We scrimmaged them year one and started playing them in a game year two for week one, so it's always been a really good match up.  Most of those games have been 10 or less points in the end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have got a really good running back and mic linebacker in Trey Moore, senior, finally, has been starting for four years, so really good athlete over there.  Quarterback looks like he can throw it, looks like he can run around a little bit too.  So, it'll take a great effort out of our guys and make sure we're focused on what we need to do and finish having a good week of practice here and hopefully we can play well.”

Published 8/21/25

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Western Improving

          Western Reserve is one four schools with a chance to claim the Firelands Conference football title this fall.

          They only graduated one senior.

          They played LaGrange Keystone in a scrimmage on Thursday night.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they made some key progress.  “We wanted to clean some things up from our Northmor scrimmage last week with coach (Scott) Armrose.  I thought we did that for the most part.  I thought we were a little bit more consistent.  I thought we hit a little harder.  I thought we ran to the ball a little bit better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I thought a lot of those things that we talked about this week to fix, I thought we did that.  The main thing is probably we got out healthy, so that's always the goal, get out of your scrimmages healthy and get on to week one.”

          When it comes to those expectations, Stevenson says they always have those kinds of goals.  “We like to believe we always have high expectations.  We always want to be at the top of the league and compete for a league title.  We always want to be in that spot.  Obviously, we only lost one senior, so expectations are higher.  In order to fulfill those, you have got to make sure you compete every day in practice, compete every week in the games.  You just take it one step, one day at a time and try to get better and hope that things go your way,” said Stevenson.

          The Riders finished a game back in the conference standings last year.

          They open the season next Friday at Wellington.  Their first conference game is September 12 at home against Mapleton.

          Stevenson says it can be a long preseason and his kids are going to be ready to play.  “It’s a lot.  You wait until summer.  You know these big schools practice about every day.  We don't do the 18 or 20 days they allow you, but we do get 10 or 12 of them in there.  So, they've done a lot of work and they are ready for that paycheck next Friday night against Wellington.  It’s exciting when you finally get to week one,” he said.

Published 8/15/25

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Western Reserve Drills Wynford in Districts

          Western Reserve may be an unexpected participant in the district final in division VI, but the eye test says different as they took Wynford to the woodshed with a (9-2) win a semifinal played Wednesday afternoon at Shelby High School.

          They banged out 10 hits with seven of the nine players in the batting order collecting a hit and all them reaching base safely at least once.

          Coach Josh Good says their plan was to try to take the ball up the middle hard.  “I think offensively we had the right approach.  In the first few innings we were driving the ball up the middle just right to the center fielder or the middle infielders,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We just said keep the chin down, keep doing what we've done preaching, go middle away all game and eventually we're going to find the gap and we were able to.”

          Wynford is a team who’s pitching staff has been decimated by injury this season.  Brayden Campbell, one the best pitchers in the “N10” was not available on Wednesday among others.

          Coach Tom Smith says starter Drew Pope gave all he had on Wednesday.  “They’re a solid team.  I thought we were pretty even coming in, so I knew I'd be a good game.  Whoever made the least amount of errors.  Our top three pitchers are all hurt. Drew pitched good game until we ran out of gas there in the fifth.  We had an error that let them keep batting.  I think we had five unearned with Drew pitching.  Then after we went to the bullpen, we just struggled a little bit,” said Smith.

          The Royals did have a couple errors in the game.

          Western too a (1-0) lead in the first when Conner Harmeling singled and rode home on a double by Cooper Zunis.  Wynford would tie it (1-1) in their half of the first when Gage Massey walked and stole a base and scored on a double by Drew Johnson.

          However, Wynford only threated to score twice until the seventh when they tailed their other run.  “We never had any solid hits.  Seemed like everything was check swings and just didn't hit anything hard all day.  He pitched well all day I guess,” said Smith.

          With game still deadlocked at (1-1) going to the top of the fifth, the Riders got busy and put up a four spot.  Copper Roe singled to lead off and then after two outs six straight batters reached base.  After Harmeling walked and Zunis reached on an error Tyler Wood would come up with an RBI single.  Blake Welch was hit by a pitch and Austin Kolb followed with a two run hit.  Western was up (5-1) after the uprising.

          Good says they remained patient and took advantage of their chances to produce.  “I thought our boys persevered.  We've been preaching all year you have got to keep your head up at all times.  It doesn't matter how many outs we're looking for to score.  We’re looking to score quick.  They had two outs there and we were able to ply away for four runs there all of a sudden,” said Good.

          Western would add two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings.

          Harmeling went the distance for the Riders allowing four hits, walking two and fanning four, in getting a lot of soft contact.  “Connor was great on the mound.  He's been someone that we've been progressively letting go a little bit longer each outing throughout the year.  He's worked his tail off in the offseason, the weight room, building that arm strength up.  When you keep the ball down, and you don't walk guys, great things happen,” said Good.

Published 5/29/25

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Western Wants to Hang Around

          Western Reserve challenges Colonel Crawford in a division VI district semifinal at Ontario High School on Wednesday night.

          It’s brother versus brother in the coaching box with Chris Sheldon of Western Reserve and older brother David Sheldon of Colonel Crawford.

          The Riders (10-12) buried Mansfield Christian (73-50) in a sectional title game at Christian last Friday.

          Western coach Chris Sheldon says they made a bunch of threes and when you can do that you become tough to beat.  “You definitely want to be playing well.  Three of our last four games we've really started to make shots making double figure threes in those three games.  That's something we thought at the beginning of the year was going to be our strength.  It’s just taken us 22 games to really start to get to that point where we're seeing shots go in.  When the ball goes in, it builds momentum and confidence in other areas.  Plus, it just covers up for so many mistakes that exponentially grow when the ball isn't going in.  For us, that's been working well of late.  That is what springboarded us to a 17-0 start against Mansfield Christian and able to really play with a lot more ease and comfort the rest of the way out,” he said.

          Colonel Crawford (21-1) won the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.  They stuffed New London (63-23) last Friday in the sectional final.

          Chris says his brother has a team that is loaded with talent.  “Everything to be honest with you.  It starts with the district player of the year in their point guard the (Bryden) Holt kid.  His mom must be really athletic because I played against his dad and he wasn't that good.  He’s really, really good.  Then they have got shooters next to them on both sides, on the wings, and they got some hogs in the DeGray boys that really just pound the paint,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They run their stuff so well whether it's man, zone, full court, whatever they're just really, really efficient offensively.  Then defensively they just really make you earn everything you get.  You don't get anything easy.  Everything's contested, nothing's ever open.  That combination is why you roll off 21 in a row and you're according to Martin RPI the fifth best team in the division.  It's going to be a tough, great challenge for us, but one that we're looking forward to.”

          Sheldon says they want to just hang around and see if they can make Crawford nervous and see happens.  “Everybody tunes in every March to watch the Cinderella story.  The thing in those games is it comes down to the underdog that does make enough shots to gain momentum and confidence, which also then allows doubt to creep in for the favorite.  The second part is you have got to just be able to hang around.  In order to pull off an upset you have got to be there late in the game and you have got to give yourself a chance.  For us it's the old adage, you just stay in the moment, stay one possession at a time and continue to try to build upon what we’ve been preaching to our kids or the last four months.  It's starting to come to fruition for us and now it's just again a culminating test against the best team in our district.  Hopefully, we can hang around long enough to make Cinderella be knocking on the door at midnight,” said Sheldon.

Published 2/26/25

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Western Has to Make Stops

          Western Reserve travels to Mansfield Christian to face the Flames in a division VI sectional final on Friday night.

          The Riders (9-12) edged Wynford (77-72) in a semifinal on Tuesday night in Collins.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they able to make a few more shots than Wynford.  “It was two really bad defensive performances.  Fortunately for us, we happened to make a couple more baskets than them.  If you like high scoring offense it had that, but if you like to watch defense that was obsolete, never walked into the gymnasium.  So, all you can do at this time of year is hope you're good enough to win and we were and now if we don't clean up some things defensively here with the short turn around, we're going to not be as fortunate come (Friday) night,” said Sheldon.

          Mansfield Christian (11-10) has lost three of its last four coming in.  They finished in second place in the Mid-Buckeye Conference this winter.

          Sheldon says they have an outstanding scorer.  “Well, the (Davion) Mack kid is really good.  He can score it from everywhere.  He jumps out of the gym, his first step is really dynamic and he is a handful.  When you're trying to game plan for a kid of that caliber it's going to put some pressure on us and then it's going to probably free up some of their other guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They have got a couple shooters.  I like the (Taylor) Hahn kid as well.  He’s a very athletic kid that gets it to the rim and plays extremely hard.  They put three shooters on the floor.  So, we're going to have to be really good at our rotations.  Much better than what we were in the semifinal.”

          Sheldon says the Flames do a lot of different things on defense, but nothing they haven’t seen before.  “Defensively, they give you a multitude of looks.  Stuff you see year in year out, but they try to mix and match some things.  We will have to be able to make those reads and those adjustments offensively.  We've got to make some shots and we have got to do a much better job of getting stops if we want to give ourselves a chance to win,” he said.

Published 2/21/25

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Western Has to Make the Little Plays

          Western Reserve entertains Wynford on Tuesday night in sectional semifinal in division VI.

          The Riders (8-12) beat Crestview (57-49) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night and lost (55-53) to Edison in non-league action on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they did some good things, but the tournament is a different animal.  “I thought we played fairly well for the most part last weekend.  We'd like a couple plays in the last 90 seconds back on Saturday night, that's for sure.  We did have a solid weekend and hopefully we can build on that going into (Tuesday) night's game.  Tournament basketball's totally different because it just brings a whole other element of pressure to certain kids and certain teams and how they respond because they know it could be the end.  You won't quite know if you're really ready for that until we step on the floor and the lights are on and the scoreboard is running,” said Sheldon.

          Wynford (4-17) is coming off a (67-36) loss to Colonel Crawford in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday and a (55-53) loss to Northmor in a Saturday night non-conference game.

          Sheldon says little things will matter in this game.  “They look a lot like us.  Not very big, a lot of guards, rely heavily on the jump shot.  So, in that regards they mimic us a little bit.  The (Weston) Prenger kid is a really good point guard and then (Drew) Johnson kid is shooting it really, really well right now.  So, I think whichever team can knock down some shots and get comfortable early is going to gain an advantage,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “In a game like this of pretty equally talented teams it's going to be some of those little things that end up dictating the outcome of the basketball game.  Those little plays that happen within the play of the game.  We have got to win those.  We have got to take advantage of every little opportunity we can if we want to come out on top.”

          Sheldon is a 1997 graduate of Wynford, but he says playing them is really no different for him.  “We've played them twice in the district tournament years ago.  We're 1-1 against them.  We're talking it has been probably 12, 15 years somewhere in that regard.  We played them once at Mansfield and once in Ontario.  Won in Ontario, lost in Mansfield.  So, this will be the third time we play them.  When you've been gone from that place for 28 years, that's a whole other lifetime ago.  You don't ever really ever go back, so it's just like playing another team for me to be quite honest,” he said.

Published 2/18/25

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Western Must Respond Better

          Western Reserve, looking to get back on track, plays at Crestview in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          The Cougars must win to give themselves a chance to share the conference title.

          The Riders (7-11,6-7) lost (61-40) to “FC” leader Norwalk St. Paul on Monday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they let the game get way from them in the last part of the third quarter.  “We stuck to our game plan and were pretty patient and really trying to take good shots, make the extra pass and did a nice job containing them early.  We’re down four at the half.  We're down two with four minutes to go in the third quarter and then it got away from us.  It started with taking some bad shots that led to run outs and they really made their first run to push it up to 10.  We tried to weather that storm, but we weren't able to and then they really picked it up defensively.  We didn't handle it well in the half court and that led to some bad turnovers and again continued missed shots.  That's what good teams do and they made another run, back-to-back runs and that's what good teams do,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says they must do a better job of responding against good teams.  “We're still not in a place from a mindset of having a sense of urgency and a desire to want to execute against when it gets hard.  We take the easy way out and settle.  Those two things and that combination has really hurt us when we're playing good teams that have turned it up on us.  We get a chance to turn around and try to do it against another good team (Friday) night,” he said.

          Crestview (15-4,10-2) is coming off a (52-49) loss to Plymouth on Monday that dropped them a game behind St. Paul.

          Sheldon says they will be ready to play on Friday.  “I expect a Crestview team that's coming off two losses in the last week is going to be highly motivated regardless what they've been going through.  They know that they have got win to force an opportunity for a league title against St. Paul on Saturday.  They kicked our butts the first time, so we know it's going to be a really tough challenge,” he told Swankonports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's going to be one that honestly I'm looking forward to just because of how we didn't respond in the back half of the second half against St. Paul.  We go right back against the team is going to try to mimic and do the same things to us and we can see if for a weeks’ time we've been able to grow up and try to respond a little better than what we have.”

Published 2/14/25

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Western Playing Well; Facing Tough Week

          Western Reserve, a winner of five of its last six, plays at Monroeville on Thursday and at home with Norwalk St. Paul Saturday in Firelands Conference games this week.

          Last week, they beat South Central (72-27) on Friday night in a conference game and Wellington (61-46) in non-league play on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says he likes what he sees.  “We've got a nice little stretch here where we're starting to piece things together and play pretty well basketball wise from the offensive and defensive side of the ball.  I think the biggest thing just keeps coming back is what I've been saying we're taking good shots, we’re making the extra passes.  We're able to run our offense a lot more efficiently and not forcing the issue as much.  When we do that, we've been way more consistent and that's obviously leading to better results,” said Sheldon.

          Western (7-9,6-5) makes the trip over to Monroeville (10-6,7-4) on Thursday night.  The Eagles have won four of their last five, including a (48-38) win over Plymouth in league action last Friday.

          Sheldon says they do a good job of staying on the game plan and they are hard to score on.  “Honestly would say the same thing, they don't beat themselves.  They play within what their ability is on the offensive end.  They play to their strengths.  They're really long and strong.  They do a great job and just keeping you in front of them defensively and make you earn everything you get.  That combination is really boded well for them as of late.  We know they kicked our butts the first time around and we have got to go now to their place.  It's going to be a tremendous challenge.  One that's going to require 32 minutes a really good basketball by us,” said Sheldon.

          Right now, St. Paul (12-5,8-1) trails Crestview by one and they play them on Wednesday.  The Flyers beat Western Reserve (49-41) in their first game on January 3.

          Sheldon says they will have to play very well if they are to win.  “We definitely have a tough stretch here this week.  They’re co-champs just as much as Crestview is from a year ago.  They’re only a game back and they have a lot of guys that have been in the battles playing high school varsity basketball now with a lot of two, three year letter winners.  They're really getting better contributions, even more balance from some of their other guys that have joined them,” he told Swankosports.com on Monday afternoon, “Again one of those where we've got to try to take a couple of their strengths away to make life a little more difficult for them at the offensive end.  Then for us we've got to make them come out and guard us.  We've got to make them guard all five spots on the floor and the best way to do that is to play through our motion.”

Published 2/04/25

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Western Making Good Shots

          Western Reserve has a double weekend in the Firelands Conference as play at New London on Friday and at Plymouth on Saturday.

          There is no question they are coming off their best weekend of the season in handling Plymouth (66-47) on Thursday and Mapleton (66-54) on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they executed well on both ends.  “We've been talking and preaching all year about trying to find better chemistry and consistency more than anything on the floor on both sides.  We've been pretty competitive most nights it up to that point and right there in ball games against good teams with an opportunity to win, but just couldn't do it for 32 minutes.  We really did a nice job of that on both sides starting with our defense on Plymouth’s best player the (Jarrett) Burr kid and Mapleton's best player the (Scott) Hickey kid.  Then did a really nice job then offensively of sharing the basketball, moving without it, and knocking down shots.  That goes a long way in this game.  We were able to finally do that now can we do it for more than one week is the next step in the progression,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says last week they were finally able to make shots and he says not it’s about consistency.  “For us, so much of it been we hadn't been able to make shots.  So, when you’re not making shots your other mistakes exponentially become more glaring because you're not able to make up for it on the offensive side of the ball.  Not only are we making shots, we're taking good shots.  We're not taking bad shots, so we're not rushing shots.  We're not forcing the issue.  We're actually playing out of the offense and really taking what the defense is giving us and then we're finishing those plays.  For us to continue to grow in that area and do those things is where you talk about the consistency standpoint.  If you're going to get over the hump and start winning more games and becoming a better basketball team those things have got to continue,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (4-8,4-4) is at New London (1-11,1-6) on Friday.  New London lost to conference leader Crestview (74-50) last Saturday.  Western won the first game (73-36) on December 19.

          Sheldon says New London is better and they have to stay hungry.  “They were in the second half only down single digits.  They were in that basketball game for a while and Crestview did wheat Crestview does to a lot of us and eventually overwhelmed them.  They were able to fight and scratch and claw and really compete.  I thought they handled Crestview’s pressure fairly well and we're able to stay in the game because of that.  Defensively, they do a nice job of just staying in front of you and making you have to hit shots.  They did that fairly well as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're getting better for sure and you can see their confidence starting to grow,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “At their place it's never been an easy place to play for us.  Just because of what we did in game one doesn't mean anything for game two.  We've got to go in and continue to remain hungry and focused on what our assignments are and what we're supposed to do if we want to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Published 1/22/25

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Western Has to Clear That Last Hurdle

          Western Reserve plays a pair of Firelands Conference games this week as they are at home for Plymouth on Thursday and Mapleton on Saturday.

          They came close to breaking a three game skid last Saturday when they lost (60-50) in overtime to Huron in non-league play.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were right there.  “They're a good basketball team.  We made some adjustments with our rotations with some of our personnel just because we're at that point right.  We had up to that point played nine games and haven't been very productive or consistent from a lot of our guys.  We were just trying to do something maybe a little different.  Seeing if we can get a little bit of spark and I thought we did and played fairly well.  We had a chance with the ball in our possession on the last play of the fourth quarter and unfortunately it didn't go in.  They took advantage early in overtime.  When you get the lead early in overtime that's such an advantage with the shorter period that we just could never get back into it.  Steps in the right direction, but still a long way to go,” he said.

          Western Reserve (2-8,2-4) hosts Plymouth (5-6,2-4) on Thursday night.

          Sheldon says the Big Red has a nice combination of players.  “The (Jarrett) Burrer kid can really play and he makes life pretty easy for those guys around him.  They put a couple shooters around him, a couple bigs that are really active on the glass.  They just do a nice job and some of the things they're trying to run offensively.  Really moving the basketball and getting good, quality looks.  They have some length to them across the board.  There's only one guy that's really under 6 foot tall and they use that length to just keep people in front of them and really holding their opponents to one shot and out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They do a nice job of that and because of those two things they're in every game.  They're right there on the cusp of beating some really good basketball teams.  So, we definitely have our work cut out for us.  We have got to try to build on what we did offensively and defensively Saturday night and see if we could try to connect that type of rhythm and execution two games in a row would be something we haven't been able to do so far this year.”

          When it comes to Mapleton (9-3,4-2) they beat Western (48-31) on December 13. 

          Sheldon says Scott Hickey is an explosive scorer.  “Hickey is right there with Thompson in our league.  He's just such a hard matchup because he can do it all and he's so athletic, great body control, great strength and explosiveness.  We have got to give him a lot of attention.  He almost beat us single handedly the first time where he had 28 and we only had 31 and that's usually not good for your basketball team when one guy almost beats you.  They have got the two bigs and their wings are playing with confidence.  So, they're again going to be another night out in our league for us that’s very, very competitive.  We've been in a lot of basketball games and for us it's a matter of when are we going to put four quarters together and be able to get over the hump.  It doesn't matter whether it's Thursday night or Saturday night that's got to be our mindset and our goal and because we're right there it's just a matter of getting over the hump,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/16/25

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Western to Play First Place Crestview

          Western Reserve will host Firelands Conference leader Crestview in a game to be played now on Thursday night.

          It was supposed to be Friday, but the Cotton Bowl game between Ohio State and Texas forced the move.

          Last week, the Riders fell (49-41) to second place Norwalk St. Paul.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says he saw some bright spots on offense.  “As much as we didn’t make shots, still common theme, I thought our offensive production was at least better.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been good enough to beat average or above average teams.  So, all we can continue to do is get back into the gym and keep working and plugging away to see if we can get ourselves going in the right direction.  As I told our kids after the game, I know it's not showing up right now on game night, but we've had two really good practices in two good days of practice each of the last two plus weeks offensively.  I just told our kids we just got to keep grinding sooner or later that's going to transition to a varsity basketball game and hopefully good things will be a result of it,” said Sheldon.

          Western (2-6,2-3) entertains Crestview (8-1,5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Thursday night.  The Cougars lost their first game of the season Tuesday night when Highland beat them (54-50) in non conference play.

          Sheldon says you must contain Justice Thompson, but the Cougars also have other players that can hurt you.  “Everybody knows who Thompson is and how good he is, Ringler and Goon and you can just see them now where they're at and they're role players are starting to get a lot more comfortable that they're in the middle of the year now.  They just look better, they look like they are more at ease playing varsity basketball, which in turn makes them even more dangerous,” he told Swanknsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They're still going to pressure you get after you in man to man defensively.  John's teams have always been very good motion offensive basketball teams and when you have got Thompson to go with it, it makes them really hard to guard.”

          Sheldon says they have to be fundamental on defense and hope their execution om offense leads to some made shots when they have the ball.  “For us I just think we've got to do a good job on trying to have a lot of bodies at Thompson, but we've also got to do a tremendous job of our reads in terms of when we peel off and help after we help the helper because they've got some other guys now that are scoring the ball as well.  Offensively, we just got to continue to stick to a couple of the principles that we keep preaching.  Things that we're starting to see positive returns in practice and hopefully like I said earlier that'll start to carry over into games,” he said.

Published 1/08/25

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Riders Have to Make Shots

          Western Reserve continues to work on its offensive execution as they play down the road at Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They lost (51-41) to Monroeville last week in conference play.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they just failed to make shots.  “It’s been a common theme for us trying to put the ball in the basket, it's been challenging.  Last week was no exception to that.  We're getting plenty of shots single digits in terms of for us turnovers.  We're just not completing the play.  A large part of that right now, more than anything it’s become a mental block for us.  It's something that we've got to work our way out of.  The only way to do that is to continue to get a lot of reps during the week, whether that's individually or whether that's in live situations and you hope you start to see the confidence grow and build from that,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says right now they are not playing with confidence on offense.  “The hard part is, we've had two really good weeks of practice.  We've played really well in practice, we're shooting it really well.  Now, it’s just a matter time before that carries into game situations more consistently.  That’s all you can do as a coach is try to get kids confidence and get them to back the courage to continue to compete and play at that end of the floor.  Until we do that obviously we're going to continue to struggle.  We gave up 51 points, we weren't bad defensively, we weren't great, but 51 points is enough to win a game and we just didn't do it,” he said.

          Western Reserve (2-5,2-2) plays at Norwalk St. Paul (5-4,3-1) on Friday night.  The Flyers lost for the first time in conference play on Monday to Mapleton (73-69) in overtime.  They lost (63-46) to Tiffin Calvert in a non-league game on Thursday night.

          Sheldon says St. Paul has a lot of scorers.  “They're explosive, They've got a lot of nice players.  (Nolan) McCall and (Korey) Frazee are three year varsity players, (Jacob) Bocock as well, so they've got a lot of experience. They're juniors and their sophomore are playing well.  (Landon) Fries is really excelling at his position on the floor for them.  Then the (Grant) Kuhnle kid, who comes off the bench has a lot of talent ability.  So, they're a really tough guard because they're the one team in our league that I think can score it at all five spots on the floor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's hard to focus on one guy for them right now.  We've got to put in a tremendous defensive effort.  McCall is such a difference maker in the lane.  You have got to be able to excel and hit some shots from the perimeter to try to spread them out a little more because they play more of a traditional pack line defense.  That hasn't been something we've excelled at very well.  We're going to go out and try to compete and if we can guard and make enough shots we can hang around and try to give them a game.  They're really, really good and it's going to be a tremendous challenge for us.”

Published 1/03/25

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Western Preparing for Athletic Monroeville

          After putting together two conference wins last week, Western Reserve will be at home for Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game on Saturday night.

          They beat New London (73-36) last Thursday and South Central (57-52) on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were able to make their defense a factor.  “We talked about going into both games honestly trying to let our defense ignite our offense and maybe giving us an opportunity to get going since we've really been struggling on the offensive side of the ball.  We did that really, really well against New London and then we did a pretty good job of that for the most part against South Central.  We just went through a couple stretches in that game where we couldn't put the ball in the basket.  We shot twice as many twos as we did threes and they were pretty point blank range.  We just couldn’t put it in.  Fortunately, enough for us late in the game and we did a great job getting some stops and converting to be able to secure the win.  When your basketball team is struggling to pick up two wins, regardless who you're playing, hopefully you can ignite us to continue to get better,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says the problem about Christmas week is you are not sure what your kids are doing because they are out of their routine.  “I think it could be.  For us we're fortunate that we don't play till Saturday.  We're going to get two full days of practice and then because it's Saturday we're going to walk through even on Saturday morning.  So, that really allows us to get back into sort of our normal routine.  The issue with any break is really just how late your kids stay up and what happens with their sleeping patterns and how does that impact them, that's more so the problem with breaks, especially the long breaks,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “This year, like most districts.  We’re out for two weeks because of the holidays falling smack dab in the middle of the week.  Hey, everybody's got to deal with it.  I think there's positives and negatives to it and we just have got to try to hopefully be able to get our guys focus, attention and effort then on Monroeville when in the time we do have them.”

          Western Reserve (2-4,2-1) plays host to Monroeville (2-3,1-1) on Saturday night.  The Eagles have not played a conference game since December 13 when they lost (48-33) to Norwalk St. Paul.  They did win their last game last Tuesday (86-55) over Danbury Lakeside.

          Sheldon describes them as athletic.  “They are really long, athletic, physical, they look like a team that won the league in football.  They're big and strong and athletic and they're playing with a lot of confidence right now.  We're going to have a hard time defending them in the paint and we've got to do a tremendous job of keeping them off the glass.  On the same token, I think there's some things that we do maybe a little better than them and we've got to try and exploit those things and use those to our advantage.  It's going to be another competitive basketball game.  Something that I think night in and night out with a lot of teams in our league,” he said.

Published 12/24/24

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Western Really Searching

          Western Reserve has been one of the real standard bearers in small school basketball over the last 20 seasons, but this year has been a struggle for the Roughriders.

          They play two Firelands Conference games this week at home against New London on Thursday and at South Central on Saturday.

          They lost their conference opener last Friday to Mapleton (48-31) in a game where they just didn’t play well.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they could not get anything going offensively.  “You have got to credit Mapleton.  They did a really nice job of pressuring us and mixing up some of their looks that sped us up.  Then with their two 6’4” guys inside created problems when we got the ball in the paint.  So, you definitely have to credit those guys for what they did.  On the flip side of it, we couldn't make the right play whether it was pass, shot selection, read and a two on one disadvantage situation if our life depended on.  Then that carried over into our inability to make shots.  We had plenty of shots.  We had 54 shots attempts to their 45 and unfortunately the name of the game sometimes is putting the ball in the hole and we couldn't do that,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (0-4,0-1) hosts New London (0-4,0-1) on Thursday night.  The Wildcats were smoked (72-35) by talented Crestview in their “FC” lid lifter.

          Sheldon says they are improved from a year ago.  “They have a lot of guys back that we played against last year.  Coach (Tom) Howell has now had these guys for two years.  They're definitely showing signs of growth and being much more competitive than they were.  For us, we haven't won a game and it's going to be a dog fight,” he said.

          Sheldon says the Riders must get a lot better on both ends.  “We've got to find a way to really try to start to make the extra pass, move without the ball, be able to take a shot after four or five or six passes rather than one or zero.  Then that hopefully will allow us to get in a better flow offensively.  It will make the defense move a little more than what we've made them do,” he told Swankosports.com on Tuesday evening, “We hope that we can guard a little better than we have.  We've given up a lot of points in a couple games.  Outside of last week our defense wasn't still great but it was better.  We still have to try to find ways to create some better offensive opportunities by using our defense and we haven’t been able to do that yet.  So, when you're struggling offensively like we have it would be good to be able to try to maybe utilize defense to give you some easier opportunities at the offensive end.  We need that right now just as much as probably New London does.  So, both of us are probably really looking forward to be able to get back on the floor and compete.”

Published 12/18/24

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It Starts With Defense for Western

          Friday night marks the beginning of Firelands Conference play for Western Reserve as the Riders play at Mapleton against the Mounties.

          They have lost their first three, including a (78-67) setback to Keystone on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they just didn’t execute well enough.  “You definitely wouldn't want to watch that video and show it to anybody on how to play defense that's for sure.  It's the best team we've played to date on our schedule.  They're really good.  They're undefeated for a reason.  They've got two very, very, very dynamic guards.  Unfortunately, we played the best we've played all year, but we just made still too many critical mistakes at the wrong time and good teams exploit that and that ultimately ended up being our demise on Saturday.  There were some steps in the right direction, but there's still a lot of work to get done if we want to get into that win column and start putting ourselves in a spot where we can maybe even stack a couple wins on top of each other,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says wins are more important now because it is conference play and it certainly won’t be easy because Mapleton has a lot of weapons.  “Friday is important because now league play starts for us.  It's going to be a great challenge.  The (Ryan) Hickey kid is a first team all league kid, very, very dynamic scorer, but also just a tremendous defensive player as well.  He impacts the game on both sides of the ball.  Then they have got a couple guards that can knock down shots and they have got some bigs.  They do a great job of getting on the glass, getting stick backs and really altering shots at the front of the rim,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have some nice complementary pieces to go along with their superstar guard.  We haven’t won down there in a couple of years and so that's going to be a tremendous challenge.  If we're going to be successful, we've got to do a much better job of stopping people from scoring.”

          Consistent defense will be the key on Friday night, according to Sheldon.  “You have just got to make people earn it.  Right now, we're giving up some easy baskets.  Whether it be a defensive transition, just not rotating quick enough in the half court or just the communication breakdown and it's leading to easy baskets.  When you give a team ample opportunities at easy baskets and you're not necessarily scoring the ball particularly well within the first three games outside of one game that just makes things even that much more difficult to try to come out on top. So, we've got to go down there and make them earn everything and it really does start with a defensive mindset,” he said.

Published 12/11/24

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Western Looking for Right Combination

          Western Reserve goes looking for its first win of the season as they travel to Oberlin Firelands for a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Last Wednesday, they fell (62-57) to Vermilion to open the season.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says it was a game they could have won.  “I thought it looked like a classic first game.  We weren't very sharp.  Too many turnovers, but at the end of the day we had a chance to win the basketball game.  Unfortunately, not being able to hold on to a six point lead with four minutes to go we didn't close that quarter well.  The same thing I go all the way back, as I said to our guys, we didn't close the first quarter either well with giving up six points in basically a minute to close that quarter.  End of quarters, and especially the end of the game, there's huge momentum swings.  It really came back to us not making the right reads offensively and then breaking down after those reeds happened at the defensive end.  That combination is why we came out of there with a loss,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says he hopes they have learned from the loss and it is his job to get the right kids on the floor.  “I definitely hope that we've learned a little bit from it.  We've had a couple nice days of practice since then.  I think early in the season one of the things that you're trying to see which guys are getting comfortable and then how that affects rotations.  So as coaches you're trying to figure that out early in the year.  Even though you have some scrimmages you don't play it like the flow of a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “So, it's a feeling out process for our kids and then for me I have got to figure out some combinations that we don't get stuck in that didn’t work well compared to some of the combinations that maybe worked well in that first game night and can we get that same repeat performance in game two.  That's one of the challenges early on that I think really helps teams improve is being able to learn those as a coach and that's on us.”

          Firelands is another team that will force the tempo on the Riders.  Sheldon says it will be a tough defensive challenge for them.  “They want to play pretty fast just like Vermilion.  They've got a really good big and a really nice point guard.  We've got to be able to you know neutralize the point guard, but yet have a lot of support with their big.  Then they’ve got some guys that can shoot the three around them.  So, it's a tough cover for us defensively.  It's the first time we'll play a team with a true big.  Something that with our lack of size and us not having a quote unquote traditional big will present some challenges.  We're going to have to go over there and really try to dictate tempo offensively and defensively and yet make life difficult on those two kids,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/03/24

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Defense the Key for Western

          Western Reserve plays at home against Vermilion on the opening night of the boys’ basketball season on Wednesday night.

          With a lot of kids back that have played varsity basketball coach Chris Sheldon hopes that helps the Riders.  “Most of our guys have had done it for a while, so you hope that eases the jitters a little bit you know they get comfortable quicker more than anything.  I think for most high school kids it's opening night and they're jacked up for it.  So, how quickly can they calm their adrenaline and their nerves and get into the flow just playing the game.  For us that's not going to be any different than it is for Vermilion, but hopefully familiar faces for us and can calm quicker than them,” he said.

          Sheldon says he expects that Vermilion will try to make the pace quick with various forms of pressure defense.  “Kurt’s (Habermehl) has always traditionally loved to try to play a fast, up tempo game and give you different variations of pressure in the half court and full and so we're expecting that.  We have got to be able to handle that and be organized,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They had a great run in the fall and so that tells you they got some athletes for sure.  Our ability to be able to handle some of their defensive stuff.  Then Offensively, they like to spread it and take you off the bounce and shoot the three and so with that combination of can we keep them in front of us is going to be just it's critical for us.”

          Early in the season a lot of teams don’t shoot it that well and Sheldon says defense is their top priority for Wednesday.  “I think the defense is going to be the tale of tape (Wednesday) night because we made it one round in the playoffs and they made it two rounds in the playoffs most of our guys all played football.  They're still trying to get their basketball legs and their rhythm at the offensive end underneath of them.  So, it may be like kissing your stepsister at times watching this game because neither team is really going to be into the flow offensively as much as they hoped they would be on opening night.  We're going to have to lean on defense and we're going to have to be able to handle theirs,” said Sheldon.

Published 11/27/24

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Western With a lot of Work to do

          Western Reserve has the building blocks for a solid basketball team and right now they trying to figure out how to put them together.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says there is a lot of rust right now.  “We've had them for about a week because of making the first round playoffs and no time between football and basketball from the OHSAA.  We look like we've been on the floor for a week and all of our guys basically played football.  So, we look out of shape.  We look like we haven't touched the ball consistently enough and we've got a lot of areas to get better,” he said.

          They have some talent back with significant experience, but Sheldon says they have to prove how good they are on the floor.  “When you bring six letter winners back you'd like to think that that's going to bode well for you and you're going to not have to go through as many highs and lows as what we did a year ago and maybe we get a little more consistent.  You don't have to repeat so much of the instruction like we did playing so many young guys.  Then they just have got that much more game experience, which is invaluable.  So, I'd like to think so, but I think in the same token just because you have that many guys back doesn't guarantee anything.  We've got a lot of ground to make up with two weeks to go before the opener,” said Sheldon.

          Their first game is at home against Vermilion on the day before Thanksgiving.

          Sheldon says they trying to do the right things to prepare.  “When you're limited, and nowadays it’s everybody.  It used to be when only eight teams made the playoffs and it impacted some basketball teams, but not as many.  For a long time there was a week there between the start of basketball and that first round of playoffs and that's not there now.  So, everybody's dealing with it.  It's just a matter of as a coach how do you balance trying to keep their legs fresh but getting them in shape and in the same token trying to figure out how much of your scheme offensively and defensively you can put in a short window,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “You want to be efficient and effective in it and if you overload it and you're not real good at any of it that doesn't bode well for opening night.  So, that's the balance of all of us basketball coaches face and there's no easy secret formula for that.  So, that's something where we got to continue work through and it’s something of our guys have got to really make sure we're maximizing every rep whether it's physically or mentally.”

Published 11/15/24

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Western Reserve to Face Talented Seneca East

          Western Reserve, of the Firelands Conference, hosts Seneca East, of the “N10” on Friday night in a first round playoff game in division VI.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says playoff games are always a fun experience.  “It's an exciting time.  Anytime you make the playoffs.  Obviously, they expanded it, but now we're proud to be in the top eight and get to host a playoff game.  Excited for our kids and our community,” he said.

          Western Reserve (7-3) is home for Seneca East (6-4) on Friday.  The Tigers lost the “N10” title game to Mohawk (21-13) last week.

          Stevenson says they have a lot of weapons on offense.  “Basically, everybody jumps off the page at you when you start watching the film.  A great offensive and defensive line.  The quarterback is a really good wrestler.  He runs around and slings it and can run football.  #44, the running back, Gayheart, he’s really physical, about 200 pounds,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, and they have got four or five receivers.  #1 and #8 are both really good and they got some complimentary guys with that.  So, they created a great challenge.  Coach (Ed) Phillips he's been there for forever, a long time, I think 2007 maybe or something like that.  They have got a really good staff and do really, really good things over there.”

          Stevenson says they will stress them with their pass game.  “They're pretty balanced 50/50.  I'm don’t not know if you call that balance.  They definitely could throw the ball all over the place.  The (Nicolas) Parks has got maybe 2000 yards, or pretty darn close to it throwing.  So, they have got a lot of weapons,” he said.

          Stevenson adds that Seneca East is going to be physical on defense and show a lot of coverages. “A lot of those same guys play defense and again they're big and physical and strong and fast and they do a good job of playing their 4-3 and get some good coverage in some different ways and trying to confuse you a little bit with different coverages.  They get their ends wide and they bring it hard and play solid football,” he said.

Published 10/30/24

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Riders Looking to Bounce Back

          Western Reserve is assured of a division VI playoff berth, but they want to be playing well when the postseason begins next week.

          They were smoked (28-8) by Crestview in a Firelands Conference game last week and they play at New London in “FC” action on Friday night.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they really shot themselves in the foot last week.  “We had a lot of self-inflicted things, a lot of turnovers and a couple illegal shifts, which is not very common of what we usually do.  Not a great night for us.  You can't beat a good team when you turn the ball over five times and have all those self-inflicted wounds,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We've come back and practiced pretty well so far this week.  We're excited to turn the page and get to New London.  I guess all things considered if you can get to seven wins in the regular season with one senior, I think that's a pretty decent season.  So, we're excited about that.  We look forward to getting week 11.”

          A win is one thing, but Stevenson says even more importantly they have to execute well on Friday night.  “We've talked about that a lot.  New London has struggled a little bit this year, but I’m telling you they have got some playmakers and some things that we have to make sure that we're ready to go.  You like to go into week 11 playing your best football,” he said.

          Western Reserve (6-3,4-2) plays at New London (2-7,0-6) on Friday night.  The Wildcats lost (47-13) to Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game last week.

          Stevenson says New London is a team still trying to get better.  “They've struggled a little bit, but they are trying to do some things and they're trying to get better every week.  Credit to their kids and their coaches because it's not easy to get beat the majority of the weeks of the season.  So, credit to them for the effort and continue to play hard.  It's going to be their last game at this stadium.  They’re getting a new one next year, so I'm sure they'll be excited and play hard,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/24/24

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Western Getting Ready for a Very Good Crestview

          Western Reserve, a game back in the Firelands Conference standings, will be at Crestview to tangle with the Cougars in a conference game on Friday night.

          They rallied in the second half last week to beat South Central (41-15) in “FC” action.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they were able to take control of the game in the second half.  “I thought South Central came out and did a good job early on and they really milked the clock and limited possessions in the first half.  I thought they did a really good job, they managed some things.  We got up a couple scores and they had to speed up their offense and that kind of played into our advantage.  I thought we played pretty well in the second half and we got a few scores and were able to get up to comfortable margin,” said Stevenson.

          Western (6-2,4-1) plays down at Crestview (3-5,3-2), who got nipped in the final seconds by (16-15) by Norwalk St. Paul last Saturday.

          Stevenson says the Cougars record is deceiving.  “Well, they played Kirtland, they played Keystone and they played Seneca East, all really good programs and their non league games, so 3-5 is pretty deceiving.  They have got athletes all over the place #23 is really good, #4 is really good, #21 really good, #10 really good, #33 is really good, I could list them all,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're big up front, they have the Stevens kid on the defensive line and offensive line, he is really good and is only junior.  So, they have got people all over the place.  They're really good, well coached, so it'll be a big challenge this weekend.”

          To have a chance to share the conference title, Western needs to keep winning and Stevenson says that’s their focus.  “We take a day at a time.  A practice at a time, a game at a time to make sure that we have really good practices and make sure that we're ready for Crestview.  All we can do is try to win games and see what happens on the other side.  We're worried about us, we're focused on us, and hoping for real a good week against Crestview,” he said.

Published 10/17/24

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Western Reserve Focused on Themselves

          Western Reserve now trails Monroeville by a game in the Firelands Conference.

          They play at home against South Central on Friday night.

          They were pounded (48-0) by Monroeville last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says it was not a good night.  “We didn't play great.  I thought Monroeville, hats off to them, played really well.  I told our kids sometimes, coach “Teg” always said, sometimes a good butt whippin’ will cleanse the soul little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “There's nothing to do about that.  They played really well that night.  I thought we made a few uncharacteristic mistakes.  So, we've talked about it.  You can’t just forget about.  You have got to talk about it and then move on.  We’ve moved on and make sure that we're prepared and make sure we're a little bit better this week.”

          Western (5-2,3-1) entertains South Central (1-6,1-3) on Friday night.  The Trojans lost (29-27) to Mapleton last week.

          Stevenson says the Trojans have some players.  “Really had a chance to win that thing.  They have got some big kids up front and the (Aaron) Hauler kid is I think one of the best athletes in the league.  They have got several other kids who were pretty dynamic.  So, I think that win-loss record is probably a little bit deceiving because they have got some really good kids here and there.  Some really good pieces, so we're going to have to play really well and make sure we take care of everything on Friday night,” said Stevenson.

          A game back with three to play, Western Reserve has to win and Stevenson says that starts on Friday night.  “We're just focused on us.  We're trying to make sure that we are the best team we can be each night, each day in practice and keep trying to continue to get better.  Hopefully, we win out and you never know what happens,” he said.

Published 10/08/24

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Western and Monroeville for First Place

          First place is at stake on Friday night as Western Reserve is at Monroeville in a key Firelands Conference game.

          The two schools share first place going into the game at Marsh Field.

          The Riders (5-1,3-0) downed Norwalk St. Paul (28-7) last week to hand the Flyers their first conference loss.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says the start to the game was key.  “Yeah, I thought our kids came out, especially early.  I thought we executed really well early both offensively and defensively and special teams as well.  We got a couple scores early and even got those two, two point conversions to get us up 16-0.  I thought that kind of set the tone a little bit and then I thought our kids played pretty well for the rest of the night,” he said.

          Monroeville (6-0,3-0) overwhelmed New London (71-0) last week.

          Stevenson says the Eagles are loaded.  “You knew watching them last year when they went form 0-10 two years ago to finishing second league and had a lot of guys back that they were going to be really good this year.  You kind of predicted they were probably going to about win them all.  So, we are not surprised by this,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “The (Evan) Benfer kid, who's the quarterback, is just an exceptional athlete.  Fast, strong, understands the game, is a long time in Monroeville family.  Then the (Landen) Roeder kid is their running back and he's the same way.  Monroeville for life, good, hard runner.  They are huge up front.  They got a bunch of big dudes up front that really block and they have got a bunch of kids on the edge.  So, really there aren't any weaknesses on either side of the ball.  The defense flies around.  So, they're really good.  We expect a huge test Friday night.”

          Stevenson says to slow them down they have to be really fundamentally sound on defense.  “If you let them go four and five yards, they're going to get the third and two and they're probably going to convert, which makes it tough on your defense.  So, you have to try and get a big play here or there.  Kind of the scary part with trying to get big plays and sometimes you give up huge ones and they definitely have got a bunch of home run hitters over there.  They can go to the house at any moment.  So, you have got to be able to play good fundamental defense, make sure to keep things in front of you and hope that you tackle well,” said Stevenson.

          There is a lot riding on this game and Stevenson says they are excited to play.  “Well, it’s a lot of fun.  This is why you work so hard in the offseason.  This is why you expect them to show up to weightlifting and you ask them to be disciplined in things they do and you ask them to come practice every day because you want to put yourself in position to give these kids opportunities to play for league titles, play in front of packed houses like they're going to have.  I would assume that everybody in Monroeville will be there and I hope we bring a good crowd from Collins and it's a fun night,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/04/24

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Western Faces Big Challenge in St. Paul

          Western Reserve and Norwalk St. Paul, two of the leaders in the Firelands Conference, meet on Friday night at Western in a key conference clash.

          The Riders (4-1,2-0) smoked Mapleton (60-20) in a conference game last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they executed the game plan well on both sides of the ball.  “I was really happy with the way things went.  Every time you can score that many points it’s good.  I thought really it was a pretty close game all the way through.  I thought those Mapleton kids played well.  That fullback, he's a load.  I thought our kids really handled everything well.  Put some things in defensively to make sure that we could take care of some things.  I thought we really were really locked in on the game plan.  We caught a couple nice deep passes for touchdowns.  I thought we executed things pretty well.  They gave us a little bit different defense than we've seen.  So, that took a little bit to adjust too, but then I thought we did and were okay,” said Stevenson.

          The Flyers (2-3,2-0) pitched their second straight shutout last week in blanking Plymouth (34-0) last Friday.

          They lost their three non-league games, but Stevenson says he knew they would be a force to be reckoned with in conference play.  “We know quality kids and the quality coaches that they have over there and you knew that was going to happen.  So, now they look good.  It looks like a typical St. Paul team.  They're big and physical and fast and they play really hard.  So, they do things really well.  They're still running all the same stuff on both sides of the ball and they have added some more wrinkles,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Their defense, I don't think have they given up a point?  I don't think so in Firelands Conference play.  They're looking really good and physical and fast.  The offense obviously scored a bunch of points in the last couple weeks.  So, we look forward to the challenge.”

          Stevenson says you have to be very sound to just move the ball against the Flyers.  “You know you're not going to score very many.  You hope you can get some first downs to try to keep your defense off the field.  They present a lot of problems.  They do a great job with coach Fisher is a phenomenal defensive coordinator.  So, he causes a lot of problems and really schemes things up really well.  They will create a lot of problems for us,” he said.

Published 9/25/24

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Western Reserve Must be Disciplined

          Western Reserve takes its act to Mapleton to face the Mounties in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          The Riders (3-1,1-0) won their conference opener in stuffing Plymouth last week (35-0) on Friday night.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they started to play well in the second half.  “It's always good to get Firelands Conference play started off with a win.  I thought we missed a couple things early, a couple of opportunities for a couple touchdowns, so it probably started a little slower than we'd hoped.  Credit to Plymouth, I thought they played well early especially.  Came with a lot of fire and intensity and we didn't probably match that very well early.  Then we kind of got things going in the second half.  It’s 0-0 after one.  We do get a score early in the second, but it's still 7-0 late in first half.  We get we get a touchdown pass from Hayden Keith to Hayden Dobias with a couple minutes left in the half to get the 13-0.  In the second half we played a little bit better, got a couple more scores on the board, we're able to pull away a little bit at the end,” said Stevenson.

          Mapleton (1-3,0-1) was blanked (30-0) by defending conference champion Norwalk St. Paul last Saturday.

          However, Stevenson says they still have some players.  “They had a late addition here.  #80 started two ways from last year, who wasn’t on the original roster, but seems to have all of the sudden been playing.  So, he definitely adds another good player for them.  They moved a guard to fullback, #30, I'll tell you he runs the ball really hard.  They do a pretty good job up front of trying to move people and get in some seams,” he told Swakonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Coach (Mitch) Young's down there and they run that Black River wing T offense really well.  So, it will be a big challenge.  The same thing on the defensive side of the ball.  Physical up front defensively and do some really good things there.  So, we'll have to be on our game this week.”

          Stevenson says against that wing-T you must be disciplined.  “A lot of misdirection out of those guys.  We talked a lot (Monday) about eye discipline and making sure we are where we're supposed to be.  Making sure reading the things we're supposed to read because if you don't there are going to be huge plays and it's hard to recover if you give up a bunch of huge plays.  So, you have got to try to make them continue to execute all the way down the field and hopefully they are not able to go three, four yards at a time.  Make sure that you're locked in and doing what you’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

Published 9/17/24

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Western Ready for Conference Play

          Western Reserve kicks off play in the Firelands Conference on Friday night as they entertain the Plymouth Big Red.

          They lost for the first time this year last week when Wynford beat them (33-22) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevensen says it just wasn’t a good night for the Roughriders.  “It was just kind of one of the nights where if could go wrong it did starting with the weather and we had some breaks not going our way and a couple things that just didn't work out well.  We turned the ball over too much.  Just not a good night for us and we talked about it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We can't forget about it, you have got to learn from it move on.  So, we've done that.  I think we've had a good week of practice so far and we're excited to get back to Firelands Conference play.”

          Plymouth (1-2) is coming off a (21-14) setback to Wellington.

          Stevenson says they do some different stuff.  “Their numbers are a little bit down this year, but I’ll tell you they have got they got really big kids up front and a few really good athletes that are running the ball and doing things.  They run that double wing that Lucas runs.  They do a good job of it.  They really get some tight splits and can move you if you're standing up and not reading keys and doing things you need to do.  So, they can cause a lot of problems,” said Stevenson.

          That offense turns into a rugby scrum and Stevenson says you gave to keep your eyes in the right place.  “Sometimes it's hard to find those running backs behind them.  They'll pull through two or three guys over there to the play side and he gets lost behind them next thing if you're not taking care of your business he's popping out the other side and scoring a touchdown.  So, you really have got to swarm to the ball, tackle well and hope that you can find them when their running the ball,” said Stevenson.

          On defense, Stevenson says the Big Red again has some size.  “They're playing the 4-3.  Again, some really big guys up front.  The mic backer, he's a three-year starter, so he looks really good in the middle.  Some good athletes at defensive back.  So, we'll have to try to take what they give us and hope that we're able to hold onto the ball a little bit better than we did last week,” he said.

Published 9/12/24

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Western Has to Win up Front

          Western Reserve plays on the road for the first time this year as they travel to Wynford on Friday night for a non-conference game.

          Last week, Hayden Keith threw three TD passes and the Roughriders smoked Margaretta (42-14) on week two.

          Coach Ty Stevenson was impressed by their performance.  “Our kids played really well Friday night.  I'm really happy for them.  I’m really proud of the way they overcame some adversity with the heat and stuff.  I thought we played hard all night long.  We had six touchdown passes.  I thought they gave us a couple things that we were looking to take advantage of.  Our kids executed what we asked them to do.  We put a couple different wrinkles in last week and they did a great job of doing it,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says the kids responded to coaching last week.  “We hit the film hard and ask them to make some adjustments and tweaks here and there.  Sometimes you have got to play a little bit harder, a little bit better I guess you would say, some fundamental stuff.  I think we've got a lot better over these last few weeks.  We are a young team, so hopefully we'll continue to see strides that way,” he said.

          Western (2-0) will be at Wynford (0-2) on Friday night.  The Royals were downed (25-12) by East Knox last week.

          Steveson says Wynford is big in the trenches and will want to run the football.  “Well, Galion beat Carey, Friday so what's that tell you about Galion?  They're really, really good.  East Knox is a really good football team too.  That 0-2 record is probably pretty deceiving.  They are huge up front.  #77 is 6’8”, 320 pounds.  The tight end is about 240, so they're really big up front.  They have got pretty good athletes on the edge.  They run the ball really, really well, a very physical team,” he told Swankonsports.com, “It'll be tough.  Defensively, they change it up, mix it up every week, usually see a lot of different fronts out of them.  So, we'll really have to be on top what we're doing.”

          Stevenson says they are going to have to find a way to compete up front.  “That's what's going to come down to as it almost always does.  We have got to block and tackle and make sure that you're getting things taken care of up front.  They definitely have a size advantage on us and hopefully our kids will use their technique and fundamentals and do okay,” he said.

Published 9/03/24

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Western Will Face Athletic Margaretta

          Week two for Western Reserve has the Riders at home against the Maragretta Polar Bears in non-conference play.

          Last week, Western downed Wellington (34-23) to open the season.

          Coach Ty Stevenson was pretty happy.  “Anytime you can get a win on opening night that always feels good to get your kids off to good start and be 1-0.  I thought we came out the gates pretty good.  I think it was 20-3 at the half.  They hit a 40 yard field goal.  So, I thought our defense played really well.  I thought our kids executed up front.  They gave us a couple different looks and I thought we did a pretty good job of taking care of that.  So, definitely happy overall and looking forward to continuing this season,” he said.

          Stevenson says the kids have looked pretty good in practice this week.  He hopes they are hungry.  “Practice has been really hot.  It's been hot and the kids have worked hard and you know doing their best.  We're trying to keep them hydrated and talk to them about taking care of themselves and taking care of the heat and making sure that they're doing the right things so we'll be alright.  I feel like it could make you satisfied, but you hope those wins make you more hungry because every game then becomes a little more important and a little more exciting and typically you'll get a little bigger crowd at your home game.  So, hopefully our kids are ready to go,” said Stevenson.

          Margaretta fell (19-0) to Vermilion last week.

          Still, Stevenson says the Bears are going to be a tough team to beat.  “I think I told you this few weeks ago, Vermilion is a really good football team.  Coach DiFucci has done a great job of building that program over the last few years here and getting them really rolling.  Margaretta had a few guys out last week that we fully anticipate we'll be back playing (Friday) night, so they're really good.  So, they're really athletic on the edge and they have got big kids up front.  The (Juda) Keller kid is a junior, I really wish he was a senior, but he's junior, good three-year player at quarterback who can really throw it around and run a little bit when he needs to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “A couple of really good guys on the edge that can make some big plays.  So, it should be a really good test.  You like to play teams that you think you can compete with, but will also give you a good test.  You don’t want to beat somebody 48-0 at the half, that's not helping your program any.”

Published 8/30/24

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Western Ready to Find Out

          Western Reserve will host Wellington has they kick off the 2024 high school football season on Friday night.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they are going to find out where they stand.  “It always feels good when you get to game week.  That's always exciting thing. Monday will get reset practice and get going for the week.  Now, you really have a purpose and a plan of what you can do against the team you face.  I feel like our progression has been pretty good.  I feel like in both scrimmages we were able to scrimmage couple quality programs and I thought we found some things we feel like we're pretty good at,” he told Swankonports.com on Monday afternoon, “We found plenty of things that we need to continue to work on during the week and continue to get better at this week.  So, that's always good to find.  You always need to be in a little better shape and carry out your assignments a little better.  Hopefully, we'll do those things over the next few days and go play well until Friday night.”

          Western will be without Conner Dawson, the 2023 NW district division VI offensive player of the year.  The running back decided not to play his senior season.

          Stevenson says they are still going to try and play their brand of football.  “We'll always start running the football.  We'll probably be a little more balanced than we were last year.  That 2019 team that went 9-1 people forget that we threw for about 1,800 yards on that team.  So, we've thrown over 1,000 yards several times since I’ve been here.  So, we'll look to throw a little bit more trying to be balanced.  You have always got to stop the run, especially in the Firelands Conference, so we'll look forward to trying to do that as well,” he said.

          A panel of nearly 30 media members from North Central Ohio chose Western Reserve to finish fourth in the Firelands Conference this season.

          Western smoked Wellington (33-10) last season and they have beaten the Dukes four straight times.

          This season, Stevenson says Wellington has some skilled guys that can make plays.  “We've opened up with Wellington since my second year.  So, this is the fifth straight time we’ve played each other.  They always have got really good kids that look good on film.  They have some big guys up front.  They have got a couple running backs that can really run.  So, it we be a good test.  We’ll have to play really well.  You can’t turn the football over.  You have got to take care of business.  Coach (Ryan) Teglovic always said special teams that first week you never quite know because you don’t do them live until that first Friday night, so I’m sure those will play a big part,” said Stevenson.

Published 8/20/24

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Western Reserve to be More Balanced

          Western Reserve is a sold football program and they expect to be in the mix this fall too.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says he likes the dedication that he has seen from his players this summer.  “Yeah, we've had a good summer and I felt like our weight room attendance was pretty good.  We bring back a decent amount of guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We’re excited for the work we've put in and the effort we’ve put forth this summer.  So, looking forward to see Northmor on Friday and starting to see who you’ve got against another varsity football team.”
          Last year, the Riders were (7-4) and won a first round playoff game.

          They featured running back Connor Dawson, who was the Northwest District, division VI, offensive player of year with 2,332 yards and 36 touchdowns.

          Stevenson says they always want to run the ball, but they are going to be more balanced this fall.  “We always want to be a team that starts by running the football and defends the run well. I think we'll be a little more balance this year than we were probably last year.  We have got to returning quarterback Hayden Keith, a junior, so we're excited about that.  We think we got some pretty good skilled guys on the edge, so we're hoping to be able to compete well,” said Stevenson.

          On defense, the Roughriders have some building blocks, but Stevenson says he is eager to see them be tested.  “I think we'll be solid there.   We're breaking into a couple new guys in some spots, but I think overall we got a good core of guys returning at each spot, line, linebackers and defensive backs.  So, we're hoping that we can continue to jell and as I said Friday we'll see a well coached team, in coach (Scott) Armrose’s Northmor Golden Knights, so I'm sure they'll give us a good test,” said Stevenson.

          Norwalk St. Paul won the Firelands Conference title last season, but Stevenson calls Monroeville the favorite for the title in 2024.  “We're going to try our best.  Monroeville returns a ton of guys.  I think St. Paul and Crestview will be really good too.  So, it should be good league from top to bottom and we hope to be right there at the end,” he said.

Published 8/06/24

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Western to Play Athletic Stritch

          Western Reserve will entertain Cardinal Stritch in a division III sectional semifinal on Tuesday night in Collins.

          The Riders will need to reverse their recent trend as they have lost their last five.

          Friday night, Firelands Conference co-champion Crestview destroyed them to the tune of (73-37) at Crestview.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says Crestview was just too much for them.  “When you're playing a team of that caliber that's highly motivated to win a league title on their floor, I just feel like we didn't embrace the moment and the challenge when it started to unravel.  The momentum swung so much that it impacted us more mentally than anything else.  You can't turn it over 17 times in the first half that lead to 18 points that you just couldn't even guard because of the way we were turning the ball over.  It created a tidal wave and in so many ways that's what good teams do to average basketball teams and that's what happened.  Hopefully, our guys can use that as a learning curve and an opportunity to hopefully try to turn around and get right back at it to see if we can put that behind us and yet learn some lessons along the way,” said Sheldon.

          Western (10-10) plays at home against Cardinal Stritch (8-14), the defending district champ on Tuesday night.

          Sheldon says the Cardinals have two really good guards with varsity experience.  “They play in a very good league this year with a lot of talented players.  They obviously are not immune to tournament basketball.  Their point guard played them a year ago as well as their shooting guard and so those two are going to get a lot of attention from us, but they've got some other pieces and parts and they have got some athleticism,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We've got to really make it hard on those two guards, but then we have got to be able to rebound the basketball and not let any of their role players hurt us on the glass.  So, it's going to be a great challenge for us, but an opportunity to play at home an them having that long bus ride.  Hopefully, those things play into our advantage and we can go out swinging and try to compete for 32 minutes to of ourselves chance to win.”

          With the type of athlete Stritch has and the way they play, Sheldon says this will be a different kind of challenge for them.  “They're really athletic and they got complimentary pieces with two really good guards and a couple of nice bigs that are active in the paint.  They all look like varsity basketball players are supposed to look, just from the eye test.  We really haven't played somebody from a physical standpoint, we haven’t really played somebody like that.  Now, they're not very deep, so they can't probably play as fast paced as they like because of that.  They run a lot of motion. not a lot of sets and just because of the athleticism they have on the floor we really haven't played anybody of that caliber.  So, it'll be an interesting test for our guys,” he said.

Published 2/27/24

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Western With Good Tune up

          Western Reserve takes the bus to Crestview to meet the Cougars, co-leaders in the Firelands Conference, in a conference game on Friday night.

          Last weekend, the Riders dropped games to Mapleton (58-48) on Friday night in league play and (67-59) to Edison in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says in some ways it was an improvement, but just not good enough.  He says they are working on the same issues.  “We can look at the difference in improvement in terms of not getting beat as badly, but at the end of the day that doesn't cut it.  That's not what we're playing for.  As we talk to our kids this week, we continue to talk and show film and try to look at areas in practice the fall within same themes on both sides of the ball.  Those were the same areas of concern after week one and they are some areas of concern still after game 19.  We're not doing a good enough job coaching it, so we have guys that just haven't figured out how to do it consistent enough.  Friday night in the second half it was our offense where we just continued to be stagnant.  We just over dribbled the basketball, we didn't make the extra pass and we didn't move without it very well.  Saturday night in the second half it was our defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We couldn't get a stop in defensive transition, something we've been saying since game one.  We had multiple errors on the defensive end where communication breakdown cost us.  Those continue to be things that you'd like to see us get better and especially against better competition.  That's the other thing, you can't hide from.  We knew there in the middle of January and the beginning of February our schedule was a little lighter when we had won five in a row.  We knew at the back end it was going to be against better competition.  We haven't been able to put it together for 32 minutes and it continues to be our Achilles heel on the same things to start in week one to where we are and entering the final week.”

          Western (10-9,7-6) plays at Crestview (20-1,12-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night.  The Cougars are coming off a (69-50) win at Plymouth on Friday night.

          Sheldon says the Cougars take advantage of your mistakes.  “It’s the kill shot as they call it, the 10-0 or 8-0 run.  They are snipers on both sides of the ball, that's what really good teams have the ability to do.  They go for the jugular and you have got to try to avoid those.  We talked about it the first time around and now second time around we've got to do everything in our power to try to control pace a little better offensively and defensively we've got to do a better job of covering up all of their offensive options.  We gave up too many open threes and I think they hit 11 against us the first time around.  They have to get contested threes.  They're such a good basketball team that if you just leave them, not move fast enough on our rotations and they're going to make most of those shots and that's how they go on those 10-0 runs.  The other thing is we've got to rebound the ball batter.  They're so good on the glass offensively that if we are fortunate enough to get them to take a shot and miss we've got to be able to hold them to one and out if we want to give ourselves a chance to go down there and compete with an opportunity to come away with the victory,” said Sheldon.

          In their first meeting, Crestview cleaned up (78-45) on January 13.

          Sheldon wants to know if his kids want to compete.  “Especially the first time around they beat us by 30 something.  I mean we didn't compete obviously for 32 minutes to get beat that badly.  With the young group that's what we're trying to do.  We're trying to figure out how to compete at the varsity level for 32 minutes.  I thought we did that against St. Paul second time around.  I thought we did that against Mapleton the second time around.  Now it's can we test ourselves against the best.  Not only in our league, but one of the best, if not the best in our district, heading into tournaments.  I mean I don't think there's a better tournament tune up game for us than this game regardless that we've lost four in a row.  It's a great challenge and it's something you want to see how hungry we are and how much do we really hate losing.  How much do we really want to win and that's where that compete term comes into the equation,” he said.

Published 2/21/24

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Riders Have to be Tougher

          Western Reserve will be over at Mapleton for a game in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.

          The Riders almost upset conference co-leader Norwalk St. Paul losing (46-44) in a conference game on Wednesday night, but the Flyers Evan Wangler scored with just over a second to go to win it.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they showed a lack of discipline at the key moment.  “I thought it was a snapshot of our season continues.  Play well in stretches, play really poorly in stretches.  We’re down 15 at half and finally decided to pass the basketball and not over dribble it offensively and move without it and run our motion and that got us back into the game.  Defensively, we did a nice job in the second half of communicating, getting active hands on the basketball, causing some problems for them, allowing us to put ourselves in spot to win it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Unfortunately, we broke down defensively by gambling with a really bad defensive play and it cost us.  That's what happens and that's the story of our year where we can't get out of our own way and that's why we haven't beaten anybody that's really that good.”

          Sheldon says right now they are not doing the hard things that good teams do.  “We're not folding to the moment, we just refuse to embrace hard.  You have got to be disciplined and do the little things in the game of basketball that are hard that most people don't want to do and you have got to do it every possession.  We don't want to do that and that's a lack of maturity and a lack of mental discipline.  We're not tough enough and that's the reason we keep beating ourselves, we can't get out of our own way because, we can't embrace hard for 32 minutes,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (10-7,7-5) plays at home against Mapleton (13-6,8-4) on Friday night.  The Mounties beat South Central (51-38) in a conference game last Friday.

          Mapleton hammered the Riders (56-35) on January 5.

          Sheldon says they need to be tougher if they are going to win this time. “They made us their stepchild that first time around.  They physically just beat the ever-loving tar out of us at both ends of the floor.  We're going to find out if we can handle that the second time around or if we're going to let them just steal our lunch money again.  It all comes down to how much are we going to be tough enough mentally to try to engage and embrace the challenge that's in front of us,” he said,

Published 2/16/24

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Western Reserve Has to Make Plays

          Western Reserve will play two games in the Firelands Conference this week as they host New London on Thursday and Plymouth on Saturday as they try and continue to improve with the postseason on the horizon.

          Last Friday night, they handled Monroeville (55-34) in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they did some good things, but they had some things that needed to be sharpened too.  “We we're down two or tied after one and then we went on a nice spurt in the second quarter to open it up to I think 12 at the half.  It sort of stayed around there for the first four minutes of the third quarter before one of our seniors came off the bench and really ignited us both defensively and offensively and allowed us to really start to put it away and get some breathing room.  Then we just had to try to sustain that in the fourth quarter.  Some good things and yet still a lot of things that we broke down mentally you know defensively multiple times.  I thought offensively our movement with the ball and our bodies wasn't as crisp as it has been.  So, we're back in it this week trying to get better at those couple things and try to limit some of those breakdowns as we approach Thursday night,” said Sheldon.

          Western (9-5,6-3) plays at home against New London (1-15,1-10) on Thursday night.

          The Riders won (57-21) on December 30, but Sheldon says they need to forget about that.  “We can't take anybody lightly.  We're not good enough to take anybody lightly.  We've got to give them respect and it starts with our defense and our ability to sit down on some of our keys with what we want to do against them, which then opens up some opportunities to score if we get the ball moving and our bodies moving, not being so stand still as we approach them Thursday.  We have to go out there and get them everything we’ve got,” he said.

          Now, when Western Reserve played Plymouth (7-10,5-5) on January 11, they won (47-44) in real battle. 

          Sheldon expects much the same thing on Saturday.  “It was a really good game and I expect it to be no different.  They're strong and they got on a hot streak right after that game with us.  So, we know it's going to be really, really competitive.  It's going to be physical, it's probably going to be low scoring.  Both of us like to really guard in man to man.  Then the other aspect is he's using a lot of motion,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “That comes down to players making plays.  They have got some that they're going to definitely try to do that and our guys as well.  Really comes down to who can take away the other team’s strengths and whose kids are going to rise to the occasion and make some plays when it matters the most.”

Published 2/07/2024

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Western Making Good Progress

          Western Reserve has won four of its last five games going into a Firelands Conference matchup with Monroeville on Friday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they have been more consistent on the offensive end and their memory is getting shorter.  “We're starting a little more consistent.  I think the biggest thing is we're starting to show growth from our mental maturity standpoint.  In the last several games, we've had multiple opportunities in stretches where the ball ain't going in the hoop right way for two or three minute stretch.  In the past, earlier in the year, that was really impacting us on the defensive end and we were compounding those mistakes.  Through the last several games we've done a pretty good job of not letting missed shots and mistakes offensively come down and impact us at the defensive end of the floor.  We're starting to understand that we're not going to be perfect.  The game is not mistake free play, but it's more who can limit those mistakes and not let those escalate and build on top of each other that you give yourself a fighting chance to be more successful and our kids are starting to really show growth there,” said Sheldon.

          The Riders beat South Central (76-59) in a Firelands Conference game last Friday and then edged Wellington (50-47) in a non-league play on Tuesday night.

          Sheldon says they responded both times.  “Friday night, with South Central a double digit lead and they cut it down to a one, two possession game and it got tight during the second half and we pushed it back ahead and really opened it back up.  (Tuesday) night playing an 11 win Wellington team down nine, 10 early on the road, down six at the half and battled back to take the lead in the fourth and close it out.  So, those are things you want to see and that's great progress of our guys.  We get to turn around find out if we can do it again Friday night,” he said.

          Western (8-5,5-3) plays at Monroeville (4-11,3-7) on Friday night.  The Eagles lost their last conference game (60-43) to unbeaten Crestview last week.

          The Riders won the first game (69-42) on December 22.

          Sheldon says they are going to have to play the same kind of defense they did the last time.  “I think there's still just like a little bit of us, they're inconsistent at times because they have a lot of new faces and a lot of new roles.  The games they've really been able to compete and play and even win is when their best two players Howell and Shaub get going offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “First time around we did a really nice job of just putting a lot of different bodies, giving them different looks, and they really never got in rhythm.  We're going to have do a lot of the same and it starts with the understanding what that defensive assignment is and then bringing the effort to be able to go out and execute it.  We've got to do that for 32 minutes if we want to put ourself in the spot where we can repeat what we did the first time around.”

Published 2/01/2024

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Western Has to Adjust

          Western Reserve hosts South Central in a Firelands Conference matchup on Friday night.

          The Riders beat Crestline (71-53) in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they had to work hard to get it.  “I thought we battled a lot of adversity that night with one of our main starters being out ill that night.  We were then short handed from that standpoint and then we got in a lot of foul trouble.  In the first half alone, we had three of our seven guys with three fouls or more.  So, it really challenged us to dig deep and try to make adjustments on the fly defensively.  Then secondarily, we missed some easy opportunities early and sometimes we've been known to allow offense and the ball going in to impact how hard we're going to play and how mentally strong we're going to continue to fight.  Our kids did a nice job of that because Crestline was extremely well prepared and they really came to play and competed their tails off and we were fortunate enough to string enough runs together to come out with a victory and one that was much needed under those circumstances,” said Sheldon.

          Western (6-5,4-3) plays at home against South Central (2-10,0-7) on Friday night.  The Trojans last played January 13 and lost (67-45) to Plymouth in a conference game.

          Sheldon says they haven’t been at full strength.  “I think for them the biggest struggle been two of their better players have been battling some injuries of late.  When they have everybody, I think there are obviously much more formidable and much more complete basketball team.  Then I think that allows them you know to play multiple styles.  One thing I know is through the years we've had some great battles with them and those kids understand all of those situations that have gone on between our two programs.  So, I'm expecting nothing but a tight game that's going to be competitive and one that both teams are going to go out and try to win and do everything they can to do that,” he said.

          Sheldon says to win they have to be able make the right adjustments.  “We want to try to play to our strengths and we want to try to attack what we perceive to be any weaknesses that might give us an advantage.  So much of that comes with being disciplined mentally and understanding your assignments, but then also putting forth the effort a possession by possession of trying to do that at a high level of intensity,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We're going to try to do those types some things to hopefully give ourselves an advantage.  At the end of the day, we've played them once, they've played us once and I think it's going to come down to which team adjusts a little more and is able to implement those adjustments and changes is going to be victorious on Friday night.”

Published 1/24/2024

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Western Needs Quality Win

          Western Reserve has a chance to continue its maturation process this Friday as they host Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game.

          They beat Plymouth (47-44) last Thursday and coach Chris Sheldon says they accomplished what he was hoping they could do.  “I thought the Plymouth game was a great follow up, like I had shared with you, because they're pretty physical, have got good size and I felt like the week before we just got manhandled.  It was a great bounce back for us to be able to respond against the team that tried to inflict their will on us from physicality standpoint.  Our kids stood up to the challenge, which is a great step in the right direction,” he said.

          On Saturday afternoon, they were whipped by unbeaten Crestview (78-45) in a conference game.

          Sheldon says they played some pretty good basketball against a very good team, at least for a while.  “Saturday, I know this was odd and weird to say, but we really didn't play that bad against a really good basketball team.  We're down six after one, playing well and they went on a run, what good teams do, you can't let them go on a 12-0 run and they did.  In that process, (Justice) Thompson had started to impose his will.  We had some unforced turnovers that really didn't help them offensively, but it really hurt us from being able to continue to score the basketball like we did in the first quarter.  When you get down 20 to a team of that caliber it's hard to stay motivated as a young group and to continue to believe you can compete with them.  Their secondary players really started to make shots, they're so good.  It was another step in the right direction, but still have got a lot to to clean up the end of this week,” said Sheldon.

          On Friday night, Western (5-5,4-3) plays host to Norwalk St. Paul (8-2,6-1) in conference action.  The Flyers also lost to Crestview last week (70-33) and they beat New London (47-29) on Saturday afternoon.

          The Flyers won the first game between the two (46-39) on December 20.

          Sheldon says their defensive goals need to be refined.  “They have a really nice balance of kids.  I thought the first time around we did a nice job on two of their best players, we just forgot to really account for their other players in the process.  Some of their role players made big plays and that basketball game the first time around when they needed plays made.  We've got to do a better job of rotating back to those guys and not giving them as easy looks as we did the first time around,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “If we can do that and still work as hard as we need to on some of their better players and we can take care of the basketball in terms of not stubbing our own foot then we hopefully can hang around give ourselves a chance to win against a good team and we need that.  We have beaten plenty of teams so far that are average or below average.  We have yet to beat an above average team and that's what I'm excited for Friday night.  We get an opportunity to try to compete against above average team.”

Published 1/17/2024

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Western Reserve at Crossroads

          Western Reserve attempts to bounce back from a whipping last week as they play at Plymouth on Thursday night and host Crestview on Saturday afternoon in Firelands Conference games.

          Last Friday, they were bludgeoned (56-35) by Mapleton in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they were beaten in every way imaginable.  “They dominated us.  I think at the end of one we were down a bucket or two like 17-15 and after that second quarter really did us in where we only scored three points.  We got our butts kicked on the defensive end the entire second quarter from them on the glass and us refusing to rotate in defensive transition.  We just broke down at every level.  When you're playing a good team, a team that now is 7 -2, they exploit those weaknesses and really took it to us.  Once they gained momentum their kids had a lot of confidence for a team that I don't think maybe has ever beat me in my gym in 22 years.  They really enjoyed every aspect of it last weekend.  Now we've got an opportunity, we've got a little bit of soul searching and trying to figure out if we're ready to grow up and accept the competitive nature that it comes night in and night out at the varsity level,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (4-4,3-2) plays at Plymouth (3-7,2-3) on Thursday night.  The Big Red lost (59-39) to Crestview in a conference game last Friday.

          Sheldon says this is another team that can give them trouble.  “It starts with their point guard who is a really nice player, the Bishop kid, and then they got some athletes that have size and strength.  We’ve got to do a good job of trying to play on our strengths rather than letting their strengths dictate the tempo of the game.  It's a great follow up too to what just happened to us with Mapleton.  We got abused and Plymouth is going to try to do the same thing to us and we're going to find out if we're going to take it or we're going to actually come up with some resistance and fight back,” he said.

          Unbeaten Crestview (10-0,5-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com basketball coaches poll in the small school division, comes calling on Saturday.

          Sheldon says they must control the tempo and they have to contain the Cougars spurtability.  “I was talking with John (Kurtz) a week or two ago after watching some film of them because we were getting ready to play a team they had played.  They're the classic of what good teams are made of.  They really get after it defensively, all five guys on the floor work in unison at the defensive end, they really try to make you uncomfortable and then because of their defense they play off of that and allow that to generate how good their offense is,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They've got a lot of skilled guys and length and athletes and they've all put a ton of time into the gym.  The biggest thing when you're playing teams like that is you have got to be able to try to control some tempo and you have got to avoid those teams going on that 8 to 10-0 run, you just have no answer for that.  They remind me of some of the good teams we've had you know an 8 to 10-0 run in any certain quarter tends to be the knockout punch and you have got to avoid that.  We have got to just be able to chip away at it and really try to maintain that tempo and control.  If we do that, we give ourselves a fighting chance, otherwise we're going to get another butt whopping.”

Published 1/10/2024

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Western Has to Slow Down Mapleton

          Western Reserve will be tested when they host Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last Saturday, the Riders (4-2,3-1), a game behind Crestview and Norwalk St. Paul, smothered New London (57-21) in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they made New London feel uncomfortable.  “I mean to be able to finally put two wins back-to-back on top of each other that you know that's a step in the right direction.  I think that we obviously did more things well than we've been over the 32 minutes, but still plenty of work for us to do.  We just were able to really speed New London up and that that made them uncomfortable and that led to some really good things for us.  Now, we have got to continue to build on it as we go against another good basketball team,” he said.

          Western (4-3,3-1) is at home for Mapleton (5-2,2-2) on Friday night.  Their only losses come to the co-leaders, including Saturday when Crestview took them to the woodshed by the tune of (78-39), a somewhat surprising margin.

          Sheldon says the Mounties have multiple guys that can score the ball.  “It starts with their lead guard coach Hickey’s son (Ryan) is a really, really good player, really athletic and can score at all three levels.  Then they have the (Kyle) Sloter kid, who's played varsity since his freshman year as well right beside him.  That one-two combination is as good a guard combo you'll find in our league,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Then they put a couple of shooters around them and a nice, athletic big.  They're not going to complicate it.  They're going to just play the game at both ends.  They will really try to run all motion basically in the half court, like to get out transition and then they'll give you a couple different looks defensively.”

          Sheldon says they don’t want to play at the same pace as Mapleton and they have to understand that.  “For us, we can't get into a scoring shootout with them.  I think they're pretty powerful on the offensive end.  It's going to come down to how well can we recognize when to run, when to control tempo, but also how do we really try to just slow them down and make them take tough shots and have to earn everything they get because they're pretty explosive at multiple spots on the floor.  That's going to present all another set of circumstances for us to deal with,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/03/2024

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Western Has to Take Next Step

          Western Reserve tries to put a couple of good performances back to back as they play at New London in a Firelands Conference game on Saturday night.

          Last Friday, was the Riders best performance of the season in (69-42) over Monroeville in conference play.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they got some shots to fall, which allowed them to do some other things.  “It's amazing when the ball goes in the hoop how much better you look like you know what you're doing as a basketball team.  Then for us that happened.  It’s the first time we shot it pretty well.  I thought we limited for the most part our turnovers.  The scoring allowed us to get into some different full court pressure looks, which really I felt sped up Monroeville and gave them gave them a hard time getting into the flow of what they wanted to do offensively.  So, we have got to build on it and now we have got to find out if we can do it on the road,” he said.

          Sheldon says hopefully they can take that momentum forward even with it being the holiday break.  “It gives you your schedule for the most part your general format when you're in school.  You have three or four days of prep and then you play.  For us, hopefully, the break is a good thing for us.  It's allowed us to get some extra work in, which we appreciate as coaches.  We haven't been really clean and sharp yet this week, but we're going to try to maximize the week that we get, especially with us playing on a Saturday.  It’s gives us an opportunity to get back to some basics,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (3-3,2-1) is at New London (0-8,0-4) on Saturday night.  The Wildcats lost to conference co-leader Crestview (85-46) last Friday.  They lost (55-43) to Loudonville in a non-league game on Wednesday night.

          Sheldon says this is a team they can match-up with physically for once.  “Well, they're probably coming off their best performance against the best team in our league against Crestview.  It's a four or five point game at the half last week.  Again, they made shots and it's amazing how many times making shots covers up for a multitude of sins that your basketball team makes.  When you make shots, it gives your kids confidence and you tend to play at the other end a little bit harder, a little more efficient and they did that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They've played a lot of zone, which we haven't seen a great deal of.  So, that's something we're working on this week.  The other thing is I know they're a lot like us in that they're not going to win a physical contest by any measure of the matter of who you're playing.  So, we're going to actually be able to match up against somebody that looks a little bit like us, so that'll be nice for a change.  Hopefully, the battle up titans will prevail and maybe we'll be lucky enough for it to be us.”

Published 12/28/23

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Western Reserve Still Looking at Consistency

          Western Reserve has two chances to get better this week as they have a pair of Firelands Conference games at Norwalk St. Paul on Wednesday and at home again against Monroeville on Friday.

          They beat South Central (56-53) last week, but coach Chris Sheldon says they still had some issues.  “We're still trying to figure out how to put it together eight minutes of good basketball consecutively.  We're still too inconsistent and that obviously stood out again last week.  We go through two, three minute stretches where we look like we know what we're doing and then we go through three or four minute stretches where we don't execute very well and that's part of the progression of trying to get better especially this week against a really good St. Paul team,” he said.

          Western Reserve (2-2,1-0) plays at Norwalk St. (1-1,1-0) on Wednesday night.  St. Paul opened its season last Thursday being punished (73-40) by Margaretta, but them won at Mapleton (62-59) in a conference game on Friday.

          Sheldon says the Flyers have a starting five that brings a lot to the table.  “They look like two different basketball teams quite honestly.  Now, Margaretta is going to make a lot of teams not look very good at times, so that's part of the equation.  They did go to Mapleton and beat a Mapleton team that I think might have been undefeated you know and really had a heck of a ball game against them.  One thing about St. Paul is they're not very deep this year, but man they have some really nice pieces and parts that complement each other well from (Jacob) Bocock to the point guard, to the two shooting guards and Friess and Kirk and then their bigs the (Nolan) McCall kid, the (Evan) Wagler kid and (Brock) Houck kid off the bench, so they've got some nice pieces,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're going to guard you half court man to man.  You're going to have to really execute yourself well and they're going to try to hold you to one shot and out.  Secondly, their diversity from their guards to their posts are going to give you multiple things that we have to figure out how we're going to guard from inside, outside that's going to present challenges in for us.  It just comes down to trying to understand their personnel, trying to understand, what we're trying to do with that and then trying to go out and just be consistent on both sides of the ball for longer than two two-minute stretches if we want to give ourselves chance to come out on top.”

          Sheldon says the Riders and Monroeville have a lot of similarities.  “Well, I think their sort of like us in that they're transitioning quite a bit from losing some really good players the last couple years to now having maybe some young guys that can play a little bit.  II think that's what you're seeing is they go through the ebbs and flows of consistency with that transition.  I think we sort of mimic each other to a certain extent and that's going to be I think really for us and for them who can just be better for longer periods of stretches throughout the 32 minutes is probably the team is going to come out on top because.  That's been the name of the game for both of us and our Achilles heels in the games that we lose it's just too many stretches where you don't play well and I think that's sort of what I expect come Friday,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/20/23

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Western Reserve Must Limit Turnovers

          Western Reserve makes the short trip to South Central for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last Saturday, they lost (55-39) to Keystone in non-conference play.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they are not making the kinds of improvement he wants to see.  “Unfortunately, I love to say yeah, but that just that didn't bear out to be the case.  We got off to another slow start getting double figures.  We were able to cut it to four by half, but then the wheels started really unraveled on us in the second half and really they put it away early in the fourth.  We just didn't have a chance to really get back into it.  So, a lot of a lot of things that I really felt like we weren't better at outside of I know our effort’s good, but you know I don't want to reward effort.  I've told our guys like efforts has always got to be there, but with it being the giving season I just told our guys that we have got to quit giving the other team the basketball,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon emphasizes they are just turning the ball over way too much.  “Unfortunately, right now that's been our Achilles Heel that we're giving out gifts to the wrong people at the wrong time and it's creating quite a problem for us defensively and offensively because when you turn the ball over, and how we're turning it over it, makes it really, really hard to get back and guard and make people take tough shots.  That's got to be an area where we have got to get a lot better at quicker,” he said.

          Western (1-2,0-0) is at South Central (1-1,0-1) on Friday night.  The Trojans are coming off a (76-28) loss to conference favorite Crestview last Friday.

          Again, Sheldon says they will have to handle the Trojans pressures.  “I like their five guys that they're starting.  I think you know they're trying to play a style that coach (Dallas) Yost has brought to them.  They're going to give us some different looks, whether it's their 1-2-2 in the full court or their 2-2-1 the half court,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They're going to mixed up some man and some zone.  We've got to be able to get better at what I just said.  We can't turn the ball over, we can't shoot ourselves in the foot.  Then second of all they like to get up threes, so we have to guard the three point line.  With that we have got to make them earn everything for us to put ourselves in a spot to come out on top those have to be some key factors we do well on Friday.”

Published 12/14/23

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It’s a Process for Western Reserve

          Western Reserve has only one game this weekend and it’s at LaGrange Keystone in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          They opened the season last Friday with a (61-49) loss to Vermilion.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they didn’t handle the Sailors pressure very well.  He says they were not consistent.  “I think when you reflect back on the weekend.  Friday night, we knew we were going against the team that was going to pressure us and they were stronger than us in every spot on the floor and they were going to try to do that for 32 minutes and impose their will on us and they did more consistently than we were able to handle that.  They got up to such a big start on us by I think 10 points after the first quarter and every time we cut it to two or three points they would push it right back to six or seven.  We could just never get over the hump.  It was a great opportunity for our young guys to learn.  I thought we competed extraordinarily hard, we just made way too many mistakes.  We found out that in order to win high school basketball games you have got to be consistent for 32 minutes, which is something we were not at both ends of the floor.  So, it was a great learning opportunity,” said Sheldon.

          They beat Mansfield St. Peter’s (62-21) on Saturday night.  Sheldon says this time they were the aggressor.  “On Saturday night, we played a team where we were in the role of the more superior, more aggressive basketball team.  We did a good job just imposing our will and putting it to bed early.  Now, it's a combination of how much can we grow in a week's time because Saturday night we play a really good Keystone team that's picked to finish at the top of their league.  They're really a lot of ways a carbon copy of what we saw on Friday night against Vermilion that we're going to have to see if we can close that gap,” he said.

          Sheldon says this week in practice they have to work on the things they didn’t do well last week.  “It's something we talked about (Monday).  I thought (Monday) we were a little sluggish in certain defensive drills and things we were trying to work on.  Again, we’re trying to improve on things we didn't do real well over the weekend and we challenged our guys.  I get it, it’s a Monday and we’re coming off a double weekend, if we're serious about wanting to compete this weekend this is where we've got to compete right now if we're going to give ourselves a chance this weekend,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “That's part of the maturation process with so many guys with so little experience, but it's something that we're going to keep harping on and hitting on and trying to push our guys through in order to make that mental growth that we can hopefully see some changes and advantages for us on the weekend.”

          When it comes to Keystone.  Sheldon says they will be forced to deal with an outstanding guard.  “They have a really good lead guard.  He is an elite player, very athletic, highly skilled and he's got a combination of shooters around him with size and some athletes.  They're going to give us a different look every time down the floor.  Whether it be man, zone, trap, full court and they're going to try and keep us on our toes.  We've got to be able to react and make the right decisions and try to stick to our offensive reads against what they're doing if we're going to give ourselves a chance to be in the ball game,” he said.

Published 12/06/23

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Western Has to Handle Vermilion Pressure

          Western Reserve plays two games on the opening weekend as they travel to Vermilion on Friday and host Mansfield St. Peter’s on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they have a little good news, they are more healthy heading into this weekend.  “Well, we've mended somewhat.  There's light at the end of the tunnel, but unfortunately we can't make up for missed reps and missed scrimmage opportunities.  Those things are going to present obvious challenges on opening weekend for us with some of our guys really getting their first live action all year long,” he said.

          Sheldon says he has a lot of options and that is both good and bad.  “We have got guys on Friday night that I think are going to play some JV minutes for us, but it also could be starters before this season's all said and done in a varsity basketball game.  That’s how a wide range of talent that we just don't know who fits where right now, but unfortunately due to repetition and availability it's where we're at the start of week one,” said Sheldon.

          When it comes to Vermilion, Sheldon says they must handle their pressure and also be able to gets some stops.  “They want to play a fast tempo game.  They want to pressure us into full court, give us some trapping variations.  All those things that on opening night you find out what your guys are going to be able to respond to that the thing.   I like is obviously we play a lot of guards.  I feel confident in some of our ball handlers, but at the end of the day we still have got to be able to execute what we're trying to do against their different pressure looks and get the shots we want.  Then secondarily, we can't allow live ball turnovers to lead to easy baskets for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “That's how teams that like to give you different pressures really try to go on those quick 6-0, 8-0 runs that can really be a thorn in the side when you're trying to stay in a ball game or win one.  That’s got to be key.  Then lastly, they have got a multitude of guys that have varsity experience.  We've got to be able to really try to make them earn everything at the defensive end for us because they have got some guys that can shoot it, they have got some guys that are athletic that can break you down off the bounce and if we can't stay in front of anybody all night we're going to have a hard time stopping them.  Those are probably the three biggest areas of need for us just to be successful this weekend against them that we've got to be really good at.”

Published 11/30/23

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Western Dealing with Adversity

          Western Reserve is normally one of the best teams in the Firelands Conference, and they still could be, but right now they are dealing with a ton of injuries.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says their practice sessions have looked more like an episode of “General Hospital” minus Genie Francis.  “Well, what we've seen is more medical tents, doctors’ appointments, and our trainer than I have the guys we were anticipating unfortunately.  We're off to a little bit of a slow start with a lot of injuries that have piled up and that's limiting our ability for install, to making progress, to really, truly gaining any traction that you really need to get done in the month of November.  With all that said, the guys we do have they're trying to get better each and every day and they're really taken to what our coaches are asking of them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “It's just right now we need more time and we need to heal as best we can if we're going to be ready in two weeks from now.  We knew coming into the year we were going to be young.  We just didn't anticipate six of our top eight having to be sophomores.  That's sort of where we're at right now, but that group is hungry, they really like the game of basketball, but there's a reason why most varsity basketball teams aren't consisted of a lot of sophomores and right now we're going through that that learning process.”

          The Riders open the season on December 1 against Vermilion.  They play Mansfield St. Peter’s the next day.

          Sheldon says they have had to make some adjustments to their game plans because they just can’t do some things.  “We definitely had to adjust and mainly just because we're not physically capable of doing some of the things we were hoping to do and because of our mental basketball IQ, we don't pick up and make reads quick enough on a lot of things offensively yet, so you can't throw too much at them.  You have got to figure out a couple base packages that you think you can really try to improve on and get better at.  So, it just makes the whole process that much slower.  That's just the hand we're are dealt with right now and where we're at.  I'd rather try to be good at a couple things than try to do way too much and not be good at anything.  That's just where we're at right now at the end of week two,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says this month their scrimmages they have are vital to them.  “It's the only time we get truly a look at varsity action in terms of being guarded by varsity players, being sped up by varsity players, trying to be able to execute against guys that are physically bigger than you, which is what we're going to go through night in and night out.  We don't have a true post player right now and so we're playing basically all guards and that that creates a whole other set of circumstances both offensively and defensively.  We just have to go through those experiences to help us learn and to help us grow and the more we can do that against the other varsity teams the better off we're going to be able to try to speed up the process,” he said.

Published 11/17/23

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Western Faces Physical Black River

          Western Reserve plays host to Black River in a division VI playoff game on Friday night.

          After losing three of their previous four games, Western got back on track and hammered Northwood (48-0) last week in a non-conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they played with more intensity.  “I felt like our energy was a little better than it had been a week before.  I thought we got after a little bit harder early on.  We're able to get some scores early and get to a comfortable lead and got it over with quickly and we're able to get to this playoff game this week,” he said.

          Injury wise, Stevenson says they are in pretty good shape headed into the postseason.  “We're not too bad.  We lost a couple guys early in the year, mid season, with some knee stuff and those guys are still out, but other than that we're pretty okay health wise.  I think we're kind of rounding in shape a little bit and hopefully will be okay,” he said.

          Black River (7-3) won perhaps it biggest game last week in handing Columbia its only loss of the season so far (24-20) last Friday.

          Stevenson says they will be a big challenge for his team.  “A huge win for them on Friday night against Colombia.  It was a really good game to watch on film.  It was kind of one of those mud games.  They're big up front and Black River has been a been a perennial football school forever.  So, they're big and strong and physical and they like to run the ball.  They have got a big quarterback who can also throw it.  They play physical on defense.  It's going to be a really good challenge, so hopefully we're up to that and it'll should be a good game Friday night,” said Stevenson.

          Rider running back Connor Dawson has put up some huge numbers this fall with 2,334 yards and 36 touchdowns.

          However, Stevenson says the Pirates are pretty good defending the run.   “Well, Colombia's a really good running team as well and they were able to hold them to a few scores on Friday night, so there'll be a big challenge because again just like offensively, defensively they're big and their mic backer #34 is physical and he plays downhill and reads things well and flies in the football,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They got some guys that really can cover.  That will help take away your pass game.  Like I said, they're big up front and their linebackers move really well.  So, I would say that probably the strength of their team might be the linebackers, but that defensive line those db’s are pretty good as well.”

Published 10/25/23

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Win Important For Western

          Western Reserve plays at home against Northwood in a non-conference game on Friday night and they need a win to get a home playoff game.

          They lost a tough one last week when Crestview scored with about 1:30 remaining to beat them (27-26) in a Firelands Conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they just weren’t consistent enough.  “Another tough loss this year.  We've had several of those.  It feels like one of them deals where I think we shot ourselves in the foot a few times, but sometimes we played really well.  Sometimes we drove the ball really well, sometimes we shut them down pretty well and other times you know we didn't necessarily do the things we needed to do.  So, we're back at it this week and have had a good week of practice and looking forward to Northwood,” said Stevenson.

          The Western coach says they need to turn in a solid effort on Friday.  “We're looking for a win first.  Hopefully, we can play a little bit better.  We were really good early and found a few things that we can get better at and hopefully we execute some of those looking forward to the playoffs,” he said.

          Western Reserve (6-3) plays at home against Northwood (3-6) on Friday night.  The Rangers beat Hilltop (35-8) last week.

          Stevenson says they are going to have to be disciplined on defense.  “They're over by Toledo, right off the turnpike.  They have got some really good athletes.  They are D-5, so they have about 50 kids on the roster.  They are going to run some flexbone stuff at us, similar to what Edison does.  They've got some really good speed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Their offensive line looks good some weeks, so we’ll have to play well.  Defensively, they’re going to be in a 3-4 and they fly around the ball and do a lot of blitzing.  Hopefully, we can take care of business and get a “W” Friday night.

          When it comes to the playoffs, Stevenson says if they win they are likely home for the first round.  “I think the prediction website that everybody looks at says like 85 or 90% home if we win and I think like 85 or 90% away if we lose, so this is important, we want to make sure we get “W” to finish the regular season and go from there,” he said.

Published 10/20/23

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Western Defense will be Tested

          Western Reserve is at home for Crestview in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Both teams are striving to make the division VI playoffs.  Western stands eighth in region 22, the top eight are home in the first round.  Crestview is 13^th, the first 16 make the post season.

          Last week, the Riders (6-2,3-2) hammered South Central (44-22) in conference play.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says it was a good performance by them.  “Anytime you can get a “W” you are always happy.  I thought we did it in pretty good fashion.  We got off to a good start. We're up I think 30-8 at the half, maybe, 38, something like that.  Got the thing to running clock in the second half and then subbed.  Then they got a couple scores late, but that’s just part of it.  It was good to get our young kids some time.  Get them some snaps under the lights is always good.  So, I thought it was a good overall good night for us,” said Stevenson.

          Crestview is the two time defending conference champion, but they are younger and less experienced this year.  They were smoked (33-7) by Norwalk St. Paul last week.  The Cougars (3-5,2-2) had a two game winning streak going into that one.

          Stevenson says they are still a good team.  “Well, not that many people have had some of the seasons they've had these last couple years with that that group that they had as seniors last year, with Barker and all those guys that were loaded to the max.  This is a really good football team.  They've got their feet wet now and they're playing really good football.  So, they're record is probably not indicative of how good they are and how hard they play.  They have got some definite playmakers.  The (Ayden) Reymer kid at running back and there's yet another (Liam) Kuhn playing quarterback for them and their huge up front as usual.  They are playing a lot of juniors and seniors.  So, it will be a tough night.”

          Kuhn is the “FC” passing leader and Stevenson says the Cougars make plays.  “They like to spread you out and throw the ball.  They have got some really good weapons out there.  The Kuhn kid there can really throw it and it makes good decisions.  Like I said, they're big upfront, so they do good job of pass pro.  They get their guys on the edge and let them make plays,” he said.

          To slow down the Crestview offense, Stevenson says they must be fundamental on defense.  “Well, as balanced as they are that makes it kind of hard.  You have got to make sure you tackle well.  You have got to win the line of scrimmage and make sure that's playing hard up front and executing and reading the things you're supposed to read and make sure you take care of those things and then hope that you play hard and tackle,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/13/23

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Western Will be Ready for South Central

          Western Reserve, after two tough losses, will meet South Central for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They are now two games behind both Norwalk St. Paul and Monroeville, teams they have lost to the last two weeks.  Monroeville scored twice in the final five minutes to beat the Riders (44-36) last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says the Eagles made the plays when they had to.  “It was two weeks in a row that we played good football teams and played really well at times and at other times probably didn't play as well as we'd like.  So, hats off to Monroeville, they're good.  They've obviously made a huge turn around and kudos to those guys.  Obviously, had a really good offseason.  So, it's tough, but our kids continue to battle, continue to be resilient, I thought they came back Saturday morning in good spirits and we had a good practice (Monday) night.  So, we look forward to playing South Central this weekend,” said Stevenson.

          Western Reserve (5-2,2-2) is number six in its division VI computer region.  They top eight get a first round home game.

          Stevenson says they have shown they have adopted the right attitude going into this week.  “That's the beauty of football because it is a lot like life and when things hit you in the mouth you have got to continue to push forward and can't lay down and blame others and complain about things.  I would think that almost any team in the State of Ohio if you told him they were 5-2 after seven games they probably be pretty happy and you know and we are that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I think we're happy with that, but we feel like maybe we let one or two get away.  That's part of life, that's part of football as you continue to move forward and keep working hard and put your best foot forward.”

          South Central (1-6,1-2) lost (37-6) to Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game last Friday.

          Stevenson says the Trojans have some athletes that can make plays.  “They got some nice athletes.  They do a good job of trying to spread things out and get the ball in different spaces.  They continue to work hard it looks like on film.  Coach (Derek) Fisher's a first year coach and he is getting to know those guys up there.  I'm sure he'll get things going.  We don't forget the last time that we went to Greenwich and that was our COVID bowl they beat us down there two years ago and celebrated like crazy. So, we're going to make sure that we are ready to go not overlooking anyone,” he said.

Published 10/03/23

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Western Needs a Great Effort

          Western Reserve needs to bounce back after its first loss of the season as they host Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Monroeville shares first place with Norwalk St. Paul.  Western is a game back.

          Last Saturday, Western lost (28-14) to St. Paul.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they made some mistakes that they don’t normally make.  “They took the ball and scored.  We get it, we don't score, but we get a punt, which they fumble, we recover it, but they decided there was an inadvertent whistle and gave it back to them.  So, that was kind of the start the game.  Then we just didn't play good enough to win.  We had some uncharacteristic errors,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I'm sure some of that was credit to St. Paul.  So, it just kind of one of them things that Saturday night in Norwalk some things happen that sometimes don't happen other places.  You just got to keep working you know obviously we didn't come out on the end we wanted to.”

          Western (5-1,2-1) is at Monroeville (4-2,2-0) on Friday night.  The Eagles lost (31-28) to Lucas in a non-conference game last week.

          Stevenson describes the Eagles as a team that can run or pass effectively.  “Well, it's really impressive that coach (Tylor) Nester and his staff to turn thing around this year form what they did last year.  Their quarterback and running back are both very fast and shifty.  They have a big offensive line and a big defensive line that do a great job.  If you try and get on the run game a little too much they can throw it as well.  Even those losses have been really good games and they were in them to the end, so this should be a good challenge Friday night,” said Stevenson.

          As far as Monroeville on defense is concerned, Stevenson says they have the same athletes on that side of the football.  “They are big and physical up front.  It is the same two, the running back and quarterback are also free safety and one of their linebackers in there.  They're on about every single tackle on a Friday night, so you have got to make sure you get a hat on everybody.  They have got a Clingman playing mic linebacker and he's a really good offensive tackle and also playing linebacker.  So, big up front and you're going to have to get a hat on a hat hope for the best,” he said.

Published 9/28/23

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Western Must Have Discipline

          Western Reserve makes the short trip to Norwalk St. Paul to tangle with the Flyers on Saturday night in a key game in the Firelands Conference.

          The two schools share the lead in the conference with Monroeville, who does not play a conference game this week.

          The Riders (5-0,2-0) hammered Mapleton (53-14) last week.

          Coach Ty Stevenson was pleased with the way they defensed the Mounties explosive shotgun wing-T.  “I thought our defense came out and played really well.  I thought we did a good job of reading the things that we need to read and taking care of business.  I thought we were physical up front and did the things we needed to do to take care of business,” he said.

          St. Paul (2-3,2-0) lost their first three games for the first time since 1991, but in conference play they have beaten Mapleton (49-30) and Plymouth (49-0) in conference play.

          Stevenson says this is a solid St. Paul team that does all of the things you expect the Flyers to do.  “We've told our kids it's 2-0 against 2-0, it's 2-0 in the FC against 2-0 in FC and they're a very good football team as they always are.  It was a brutal non conference schedule.  They had a couple kids dinged up.  I think they'll have most of those back this week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They're physical and it's a very typical coach Livengood coached team in the fact that they're going to run the football right at you and they're going to block you very well and they're going to tackle well and be fast and move and take care of things they need to take care of.  So, yeah it should be a great challenge Saturday night.”

          If you’re going to have a chance to beat St. Paul, Steveson says you must have eye discipline on defense or it’s going to cost you.  “That play action game is lethal and they will get tight ends running right by you if you're not careful and they'll hit big plays on you.  The quarterback is very accurate, especially on that deep ball, can hit those guys and then if you bunch it too much, they'll get people on the flats wide open.  You really have got to read your keys and really take care of what you're looking at and have some eye discipline and know what's going on,” said Stevenson.

Published 9/20/23

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Western Playing Consistently

          Western Reserve is at home for Mapleton in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, they walloped Plymouth (47-14) in their conference opener.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they scored four times in the first quarter.  “We talked all week about starting fast, coming out and trying to get ahead early and get a couple good stops defensively and getting scores and see what happens.  We were fortunate enough to make that happen early and got off to a good start and were able to get some young guys in late,” he said.

          With teenagers often times consistency is an issue, but Stevenson says that has not been a problem for them this year.  “I feel like our kids really like football and have worked really hard this year to put ourselves in the position to where we can play pretty good night in and night out.  I think they practice really well, which really helps with consistency.  If you're getting good effort during the week a lot of times your getting good effort on Friday nights,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So far, that's happened.  We've played two I feel are really good football teams.  We're able to continue to play and then we're lucky enough to squeak a couple of those out.  So, yeah, I think we've been pretty consistent for the most part, plenty to fix still, but pretty consistent.”

          Western (4-0,1-0) hosts Mapleton (2-2,0-1) on Friday night in league play.  The Mounties lost (49-30) to Norwalk St. Paul in their first league game.

          Stevenson says this is a dangerous football team.  “The (Kollin) Cline kid at quarterback is the most explosive runner that we've seen to this point up in the year.  The three other skilled guys that run the ball 10, 3, and 9 are all equally as good.  Then they got a couple other kids that can catch the ball as well and they're big up front.  I think they, I don't know, they have eight or nine starters back on both sides of the ball.  So, they are a very dangerous, good team.  Coach (Matt) Stafford and his crew do a great job of running their stuff, so it'll be a dangerous one Friday night,” said Stevenson.

          Against Mapleton, Stevenson says you have to be ready for a lot of fakes.  “They do such a great job of running their stuff, like a pistol wing-T with a lot of motion and they do good job of getting a lot of people to the point attack and they block their schemes really well.  So, they make it very hard on you, a lot of this misdirection and different things like that,” he said.

Published 9/13/2023

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Western Preparing for Plymouth

          Western Reserve, likely in the hunt for a Firelands Conference title this fall, opens its conference schedule on Friday night at Plymouth against the Big Red.

          Last week, the Riders held off Wynford (28-20), defensing a pass in the end zone to end the game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says it was a good effort for them.  “I thought it was a good game on both sides of the ball for both teams.  I thought it was a well played game.  We got out pretty early, unfortunately we turned over a couple turnovers and they were able to turn into 14 points that kind of made things a little bit different than we'd hoped.  It was a good game, I thought we played well overall other than those couple deals.  It was a good well played game both sides,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says they have some sickness running through the team right now.  “We have a lot of guys out with sickness right now, honestly.  So, I would not call us the healthiest team in the world.  So, we're battling through some sickness like I'm sure everybody is when you get all these kids back in the same building for eight hours a day.  We'll continue to try to battle that and put our best foot forward,” he said.

          Western (3-0) is at Plymouth (2-1) on Friday night.  The Big Red scored with just over a minute to play to beat Wellington (20-14) last week.

          Stevenson says they are doing a lot of good things.  “Their playing really good football.  Coach (John) Gillium has it going.  They run that double wing really well.  It's tough to defend because they're happy getting three yards a crack and they will do that all night long,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Defensively, they have got some really nice athletes as well.  The (Layne) Bushey kid runs the ball for them and plays outside linebacker.  So, they're a good football team and we have got to bring our best.”

          The double tight, double wing offense is pretty unique in this day and age of the spread.  Stevenson says Plymouth is hard to prepare for.  “It's very difficult because your scout team's not going to run it nearly as well as they do.  They're very polished and do such a great job, so it's really hard and it's hard to emulate those types of things with your scout team.  So, they definitely do a great job and make it hard on us,” he said.

Published 9/08/23

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Western Plays, Big, Athletic Wynford

          Western Reserve plays its home opener on Friday night as they host Wynford, out of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, for a non-league game in suburban Wakeman.

          Last week, they converted a two-point conversion to edge Margaretta (44-43) in overtime.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says overall it was a fun night.  “It was fun.  Our kids I thought executed.  I thought we ran the ball really well.  Really our defense, you know we gave up 43 points, but I didn't figure our defense really played that bad in some spots.  Margaretta has got some electric athletes.  Their two receivers and the quarterback are phenomenal, so they're a tough match up.  I thought we played well.  It's fun anytime you win a game in overtime like that with a walk off two point conversion it is a lot of fun,” said Stevenson.

          Conner Dawson rushed for 317 yards, a Roughriders school record against Margaretta.

          Stevenson says he’s a great back with a tremendous offensive line.  “He has had a couple good weeks here in a row.  We feed him the ball and he does a great job.  Our offensive line was phenomenal the first two weeks in getting blocks and getting him to the second level and usually he does a pretty good job taking it from there,” he said.

          Western (2-0) is at home for Wynford (1-1), the Royals are coming off a (22-20) win over Marion Pleasant last Friday.

          Stevenson says the Royals are big and they are athletic too.  “They are really, really good.  They're huge up front.  They have a 6’8”, 300 pound tight end and they have got a couple 250 pounders, the backs are electric, they're really fast, the quarterback is good and athletic and they have got a couple different called runs for him where he does a great job and he can throw, they have a couple of pretty good receivers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon. “That's going to be challenging.  They probably if they don't give up couple different special teams touchdowns, they're probably 2-0 right now and feeling really good.  So, now it's definitely going to be a tough matchup.”

          To win, Stevenson says they are going to have to be fundamental in their execution.  “You have got to execute, you have to make sure your kids are doing things right, you have got to make sure that they understand the plan and be able to play fast.  We always talk about special teams being very important.  You can't give up big plays and special teams.  Just hope that they show up and continue to play hard,” he said.

Published 8/29/23

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Western Facing Very Good Margaretta

          Western Reserve is on the road at Margaretta for a week two non-conference game against the Polar Bears on Friday night.

          They walloped Wellington (33-10) last Friday in their opener.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says were solid on both sides of the ball.  “I think as far as week one standards kind of go, I thought we played really well.  I thought we obviously ran the ball really well.  I don't know exact numbers, but Conner Dawson was well over 200 yards and our quarterback (Hayden) Keith was well over 100.  So, anytime you can control the clock and run the ball 55 times I think your chance for success is pretty high.  I thought our defense was phenomenal, lights out all night long.  We only gave up one field goal with the varsity and then we put the JV in and they scored one late, which is fine.  I thought we played very well overall, had some, like we always talk about, some special teams issues that we need to clean up this week but, I thought overall we played really well,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says they have some things to clean up or Margaretta will take advantage of those mistakes.  “We had one turnover I think, so can't have turnovers.  We need to clean up some penalties.  There were some assignment things both offensively and defensively that didn't necessarily hurt us Friday night, but coach (Gary) Quisno, the hall of famer that he is, is going to see those things and tape, he's looking for that.  So, we have got to make sure we clean up some of those things just try to continue to get better,” he said.

          Margaretta (0-1) opened with a (21-14) loss to Vermilion.

          Stevenson believes they will be better and present them with a lot of problems.  “Watching that game, it's a good football game, a good high school football game. Both teams played really hard.  I think Vermilion is much improved over the last couple years. I think Maragretta just missed a couple of things here and there that I'm sure they are fixing (Tuesday) and (Wednesday) and Thursday and will be much better this week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon. “They're big and fast.  They're really big.  They have got two phenomenal receivers and they got they got a quarterback, who is a sophomore, the Keller kid, his dad's basketball coach, who's a lights out athlete on both sides of the ball.  He probably leads them on both sides of the ball.  Can both run it and throw it, so they pose a lot of huge problems for us.”

Published 8/23/23

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Western Getting Ready

          For Western Reserve their first game is Friday night at Wellington in non-conference play.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they have been making improvement and working hard on the things they need to better in doing.  “I think we are ready.  We had a really good second scrimmage at Keystone.  I thought our kids showed up and played really hard and had a good outing.  I thought we fixed the things that we were aiming to fix.  So, hopefully as we get one more day of practice here and get one day closer to the opener against Wellington, hopefully we'll be ready for that,” he said.

          Stevenson says his kids are ready to play a game for real.  He says he’s more than a little concerned about special teams.  “You always say you don't want to win a game with it doesn't count for playoff points.  So, they're just scrimmages and now the preseason counts for points, so it kicks off for real (Friday) night.  Hopefully, we're ready for that.” He told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We talked about it a couple weeks ago, coach (Ryan Teglovic) always said that first week special teams are very scary because you haven't seen them live against another team.  So, we've been trying to rep that this week and make sure that we have all the “T’s” crossed,” said Stevenson.

          When it comes to Wellington, Stevenson says they are a good mix of power and athleticism.  “We scrimmaged them in my first year and we've played ever since.  I think it's a very typical Wellington team and in the fact that they have got some big dudes up front and a couple really good running backs.  The quarterback came in and played some versus us last year as a sophomore.  He can really throw it around.  He does a good job of a eluding pressure on the scramble and makes plays.  I know defensively they went to a 3-5 and bring a lot of pressure and blitzing from all kinds of different directions.  They have got two really good defensive tackles.  So, they're going to be some major problems here.  We've talked all week about you have got to pick up blitzing backers for us to be successful.”

Published 8/18/23

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Western Reserve With Things to Work on

          Western Reserve, always one of the contenders in the Firelands Conference, has some things to sharpen before they begin the season.

          They kickoff the season next Friday at Wellington in non-conference play.

          After a scrimmage against Northmor, coach Ty Stevensen says they did some things well, but certainly have things to work on.  “We've had them a couple weeks now and we got to face a really good Northmor team, very big and physical.  Coach (Scott ) Armrose and I were obviously together for a long time and are very good friends, so that's always fun to go down there and see him and battle those guys.  We found some definite things we need to work on and found some things are thought to be we competed well and I thought that we did pretty well.  So, we're going to hopefully come back this week, we're going to start practice here in about an hour, and hopefully kind of buckle down and get a little better this week and take on Keystone Thursday night,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says they saw the potential of what the Roughriders can be like in that first scrimmage.  “I thought our defensive line wise, I thought we did okay, our linebackers, I thought we read keys pretty well.  I thought our box defenders or linebackers and line came a little ways.  I thought our defensive backs at times covered things better and did some of our zone stuff that we do and then picked things up and had pretty good eye discipline at times and other times they didn’t,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We have to keep working on that.  I thought our running back Connor Dawson had a nice day in the reps that we gave him.  So, offensively we just need to continue to be more consistent passing game wise and get things executed up front to make sure that we have seems.”

          Typically, there is a lot improvement between the first and second scrimmage and Stevenson hopes that is realized for them.  “We are going to spend about the first hour (Monday) watching film and talking about the things that we did good and things we did bad.  It's a credit to our kids our first seven on seven, which was actually at Northmor as well, we were not very good at all and we saw that and we came back got a lot of good film and spent a good 45 minutes to an hour the next day, or whenever the next day we practiced, and I thought our kids that are great job of responding to that and fixing the things that we ask them to fix.  So, we're very hopeful that that same type of process going to happen over the next couple of days and we can see some improvement,” said Stevenson.

Published 8/08/23

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Western Faces Defensive Challenge in Oak Harbor

          Western Reserve, of the Firelands Conference, faces Oak Harbor, of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, in a division III sectional semifinal at Hopewell-Loudon High School on Tuesday night.

          The Riders (13-7) made a tremendous comeback in beating Mapleton (68-53) in their final regular season game on Friday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says his kids kept fighting.  “We definitely didn't get off to the start that we really wanted to and find ourselves trailing 17-0 in the first and 19-3 at the end of one.  It could have been pretty easy for our guys to pack it in and they didn't they just kept grinding.  Then we just exploded offensively there in the third quarter and we never looked back and we just carried that momentum to the end.  Again, just another step in the right direction for this group and something they've been doing now for quite a while and they're being rewarded for it now it's time to go see what we can do come tourney time,” he said.

          Oak Harbor (8-14) is coming off one of their better wins of the season in beating Margaretta (55-53) on Friday night.  That broke a three game losing streak.

          Sheldon says they have an outstanding player in sophomore Ethan Stokes.  “I really like the makeup of their team.  It starts obviously with the Stokes kid, 6’5” sophomore, he's got division I offers already and he's really, really talented, but they have some really nice guards around him.  When they've had success is when they get some of those guards to be successful for them around Stokes and he doesn't have to do it by himself,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Our challenge is going to be how do you try to hold him down, but yet still get to those other perimeter players.  It's going to take a monumental defensive effort and if we can do that and be successful adjusting to what they do defensively to us we'll give ourselves a chance to come out on top.”

          Sheldon says offensively, they just want to keep doing what they have been doing.  “I think we've really got to the place now where our kids understand what our makeup is and how we find ways to be successful offensively.  Who we've got to play through and how we got to play within ourselves.  When we do that we run our stuff whether it's zone or man you know and we make those right reads and we're ready to be aggressive, but yet efficient offensively without forcing things that's where we've been playing really well and hitting our stride at that end.  That's why we've had this success we've had on the back half because we've really started to put that together and we're going to have to do that again,” said Sheldon.

Published 2/21/23

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Western Reserve to Get Test From Mapleton

          Western Reserve will close out the regular season at home Friday night against Mapleton in Firelands Conference play.

          The Riders have won seven of their last eight since playing Mapleton the first time, (53-49) win for the Mounties.  Their only loss in that time coming to conference champion Crestview.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they seem to be peaking.  “You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the year.  Right now, we've been obviously really growing leaps and bounds and we've seen it pay off in the win and loss column.  That's all you can ask for and right now again we get another nice, good test here Friday night against a good Mapleton team that you know it's going to be a nice warm up for the following week,” he said.

          Western Reserve (12-7,8-5) is at home for Mapleton (11-9,8-5) on Friday night in “FC” action.  Mapleton lost (70-60) to Crestview last Friday.

          Sheldon says the Mounties have really good guards and can score points in a hurry.  “They've got four really good scorers and basketball players in my opinion.  When all four of those guys, or three of those four guys, are really playing well on any given night you see them not only win, but they score at a high level and they can compete with anybody,” he told Swamkopnsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “As you've seen in the last their last two games playing Crestview really close down to the wire and then really scoring what 90 in their last game.  There's not a lot of teams that can do that.  It shows they got a lot of basketball talent.  For us we've got to really be good defensively, but just as equally we've got to be able to attack then from the offensive standpoint and in a manner that that allows us to be successful.”

          Mapleton likes to play fast, but Sheldon says that is not a particular problem for them.  He says they must guard well.  “Well, I think at this juncture we know what tempo we want to play at and we've also played enough teams to try to speed this up.  I think we can handle those things.  It's still for us it’s a matter of can we guard them well enough, can we make them have to earn everything they get.  For us offensively, it's just continue to do what we've done for the last six games and that's be who we are and don't try to deviate from that and when we do that we're pretty good at that end of the floor,” said Sheldon.

Published 2/16/23

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Western at Their Best

          Western Reserve has started to peak at the right time of the season as they prepare to play at New London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They host Wellington in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Last Friday, they played very well at crunch time in the fourth quarter and beat Monroeville (59-57) in overtime.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says it just might have been their best win of the season.  “To beat a team of that caliber that's been playing really well, we knew we had to be really good in all phases of the game to give ourselves a chance to win.  I thought offensively, we really executed well and then shot it well.  Really just every time they tried to take something away, we read the right counters, took the right shots and we made them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Then defensively, we were pretty good.  You have to have that combination to beat a team that is that good and we finally did that.  I'd say up to this point, we probably beat everybody we are as good as.  We maybe haven't beat a team that some would consider better than us and that's the first time we've done that and that's a big step for this basketball team.”

          The Riders (10-7,7-5) have only lost twice since Christmas.  Sheldon says his kids have done everything that he has asked and improved.  “That's all you can ask for as a basketball coach.  They started out the year with a lot of question marks and a lot of inexperience.  You knew there were going to be growing pains and you just want to see guys keep showing up the next week trying to get better, trying to be coachable and trying to build on what we did have success on.  All the credit is to our kids.  We're continuing to stay hungry and having that desire to want to compete.  It's just rewarding to see the payoff starting to come and we hope to keep building on this to finish the season and to carry end of the second season,” said Sheldon.

          New London (2-16,0-12) sets at the bottom the Firelands Conference standings, but Sheldon says they need to continue to play they wany they have this year.  “We can't get ahead of ourselves thinking you know we've arrived all of a sudden and New London’s just going to go lay down.  We have got to go over there with the mindset that we've been playing with that it’s going to take 32 minutes on both sides of the ball.  They've got to get our utmost respect if we want to go over and come away with a “W,” he said.

Published 2/07/23

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Western Reserve to Tangle With Monroeville

          An improving Western Reserve plays host to Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last Friday, they beat South Central (46-43) in the latest installment of that rivalry.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they made some big plays in the late going to win the game.  “Both groups were just giving tremendous effort and nobody was backing down from any situation that was presented to us.  It was just once Isaac (Blair) fouled out with about two minutes to play I thought that really shifted the momentum and confidence from being about balanced to our side.  We made all the right plays from that point moving forward and their kids you could see they were looking for Isaac and unfortunately he wasn't on the floor.  They had a couple of costly turnovers that really, really cost them the opportunity to stay in the game or to take the lead,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (9-7,6-5) plays at home against Monroeville (9-7,7-4) on Friday night.  The Eagles lost to conference leading Crestview (70-65) last Friday.

          Sheldon says Monroeville has a lot of players that can make impact plays.  “They're really talented.  They have got two all league players in their starting five and I really like their other wing player as well.  They have got great length, they are very, very athletic and that fits right what you need to be able to compete with Crestview.  I mean that's what makes them dangerous,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “When you have two four year letter winners on top of it those guys have been through a lot of battles and they're going to be a task and they are going to get a lot of our attention.  Really, truly, the point guard Klingman kicked our butt in game one and it starts with him.  Then we can't lose sight of Goodwin and their other supporting cast members.  It's just a tough challenge to guard them and then again, like I said, with their athleticism and length, they're really active defensively and you have got to really execute on the offensive end.”
          Monroeville beat Western (50-39) on December 22, but Sheldon says now they have some guys shooting with more confidence.  “We've got guys making some shots now and they're getting more comfortable and in rhythm.  It's becoming more natural for them.  That first time we played them it was still before Christmas there in December and we were still trying to figure it out.  Now, hopefully we can keep it rolling where we gain our confidence and it slows the game down for us offensively, which makes us more efficient.  That's what we're going to need if we have a chance to beat these guys on Friday night,” he said.

Published 1/31/23

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Western Playing a Maturing South Central

          Western Reserve plays at South Central, their longtime rival, on Friday night in Firelands Conference action.

          Last weekend, was likely the Riders best weekend of the season as they beat Norwalk St. Paul (70-63) in a conference game on Friday and downed Edison (51-45) in a non-league game on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says their execution, especially on offense, last Friday was outstanding.  “We played really, really well on Friday.  We were very efficient, as efficient offensively as we've been all year long, and what was even more impressive to me is we did that with our two best players hampered with foul trouble for most of the evening.  So, for us to do that well on the road against good team like that I was really, really proud of our guys.  Then Saturday, we were not very efficient offensively and we just found a way to win the game. Quite honestly, I thought Edison played better than us for most of the night, but we honestly made a lot of good plays in the last three minutes of the game to win,” he said.

          Western and South Central have the same record (8-7,5-5) and the Trojans are coming off a (66-46) loss to first place Crestview last Friday.  The Riders won at their place (57-42) on December 16.

          Sheldon says the Trojans are now doing things that are giving them a better chance to win.  “It’s night and day from where they were to where they are.  Obviously, Brett (Seidel) has done an unbelievable job in getting those guys ready to play at both ends of the floor and to play at a high level.  At their place, it's going to be a little different for sure.  We know we have got to slow Isaac (Blair) down, but some of their other role players are starting to gain some confidence and look more like varsity ready the second time around than maybe what they were the first time around.  So, we know we're going to be in for a dogfight,” said Seidel.

          Sheldon says their goal to make someone else other than Isaac Blair beat them on Friday.  “I mean Mitchell, obviously, has been really good all year and he does so many things well for them at both ends.  Then the freshman has really come along and played quite well for them in spurts.  Then there are other couple role guys, they're not doing anything they shouldn’t, but yet what they have been asked to do by coach Seidel they have really bought into it and they're doing it very, very effectively,” he told Swankonsports.com. “All those combinations of things, playing at a better tempo than maybe what they were the first time we played is really, really going to cause more problems for us in terms of trying to stop them.”

Published 1/25/23

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Western Reserve With Things to Improve

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

          Last week, it was one up and one down for the Roughriders in conference play as they beat Plymouth (56-40) on Thursday night and they were smoked (64-33) by unbeaten Crestview on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says Crestview certainly taught them some things. “I thought Thursday night against Plymouth we played the best 16 minutes we've played all year long in the first half to really build a very sustainable lead that we were able to maintain throughout then the second half.  Then it was the exact opposite on Saturday.  I think a large part of that is just about Crestview.  They play with an intensity rate defensively higher than any team I've ever played against for Crestview.  John's had some unbelievable teams that guard.  I just thought their kids were really ready for the moment Saturday and handled it extremely well and were extremely effective and efficient turning us over 23 times.  I thought they just disrupted us and made us uncomfortable all night,” he told Swankopnsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We missed a number of open layups and front end opportunities early on.  We missed then some free throws from guys that normally make free throws and that is a sign of their defensive intensity and pressure in the half court really just disrupted us in every phase of the game that ultimately led to it getting out of hand in the third quarter.  That's credit to them and it's something our guys we've got to get better and continue to turn the page of being able to expect a defensive intensity and effort like that and then be able to respond to it way better.”

          Sheldon says you want to take things form practice to the game floor, but the problem is Crestview does things that no one else in the conference does.  “Part of it at times I feel like we do get that really well, but in the same token to be honest Crestview’s the only team in our league that has been able to really get out and pressure.  Like St. Paul has more of a pack line defense, Monroeville pressured fairly well the first time we played them, but Plymouth is more of a pack line and Mapleton played us all zone.  So, as much as you work on it in practice unfortunately one of the things that hinders us is right now Crestview is the one team in our league that is doing that so you just don't see it as frequently on game night,” he said.

          Western Reserve (6-7,4-5) plats at Norwalk St. Paul (7-5,5-3) on Friday night.  St. Paul lost (49-46) to South Central in a conference game on Tuesday night.  The Flyers won the first meeting (45-41) on December 10.

          Sheldon says they Flyers have a very good mixture of skills.  “Their three sophomores keep getting better.  Their upper classmen are becoming more consistent. I think if you if you're remove the Monroeville game altogether and you look at what they've done and the body of work they've put together over the last six weeks since we played them, they're really playing well and with more confidence and especially at their gym we're going to have our hands full because they just have such a nice mixture of bigs and drivers and shooters.  Being able to figure out what is going to be option one we try to take away and what will be option two that we try to take away and then going out and doing that while not getting hurt by all the other components that they have at that end of floor is going to be our biggest task how can we limit that.  Then for us again as you and I have talked through now 7-8 weeks, offensively can we be consistent enough over 32 minutes to be able to put ourselves there to win a basketball game that we know is going to be a tough one to win,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/18/23

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Western Just Wants to Hang Around

          Western Reserve faces two games in the Firelands Conference this week, both at home, with Plymouth on Thursday and unbeaten Crestview on Saturday.

          Last Thursday night, they fell in a close one (53-49) at Mapleton in “FC” action.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says there were in position, but they couldn’t slam the door.  “We get down as much as 12 early in the third.  Our kids played their tail off and battled all the way back to get a five point lead with 1:45 to go.  We just unraveled.  We had three freshmen guards on the floor, and a junior and one senior and that was the group that was able to dig us out of the hole and get us the lead.  Unfortunately, with just some of our inexperience and lack of those opportunities got the best of us and we failed to make the right plays and the right decisions more so offensively than anything,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “That's just part of the problem with being young and inexperienced you're going to go through some of those growing pains and that's been sort of a track record for us.  In three of our league losses, it's the same thing, we’re right there and we sort of self destruct.  In two of our league wins were right there and we made right plays and won.  We're just trying to figure out how to right that ship so we can be successful when we're in those moments again.”

          Western Reserve (5-6,3-4) plays host to Plymouth (2-9,2-5) on Thursday night.  The Riders won the first game (53-51) on December 1.

          Sheldon believes it will be kind of the same kind of game this time.  “I think they're in a lot of like us in a lot of ways and the style they want to play, the tempo they want to play.  Both of us are not offensively explosive.  The first time around we just we really made a couple more offensive plays than they did, but both teams went through spurts where we couldn't score either.  I think for us and them both of us are going to try to really guard well, but it's going to come down to who's team offensively can be a little more consistent and not so streaky is ultimately going to come out on top on Thursday,” he said.

          Crestview (11-0,6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at Western on Saturday night.  The Cougars won the first game (59-45) on December 9.

          Sheldon says it is going to take tremendous defense to have a chance in the end.  “They are extremely tough.  We knew all along they're really good and they're just getting better.  They've obviously it really taken it to another level here over the last couple weeks.  Actually think it goes back to when they beat Crawford that really gave them I think the confidence and the understanding how good they can be.  They're really took and excelled from there now.  We know we're going have to put forth a tremendous defensive effort and we're going to have to be really smart and selective offensively and hopefully if we can do that on Saturday night maybe we can hang around and knock off an undefeated team,” said Sheldon.

Published 1/11/23

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Western Has to Slow it Down

          Western Reserve makes the tip to Mapleton on Thursday night to play the Mounties in a Firelands Conference game.

          Last week, the Riders beat New London (58-15) in an “FC” game on Thursday and Crestline (42-23) in a non-conference game on Friday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they did an outstanding job on defense in both games.  “I don't think ESPN's going to make it an instant classic any day of the week, but defensively we were really, really good.  We were able to take away their best players each night and that really disrupted anything they wanted to do offensively.  A lot of times when you can disrupt your opponent on the offensive end it has that gives you an opportunity or at least increases your opportunity and coming out successful at the end of the evening.  I was pleased with our guys and the headway we've made there defensively and now we're just still trying to put together four quarters of offensive basketball,” said Sheldon.

          Western (5-5,3-3) is at Mapleton (4-4,3-3) on Thursday night.  The Mounties lost a pair of conference games last week when unbeaten Crestview handed it to them (67-44) on Thursday and they lost at Plymouth (43-42) on Friday.

          Sheldon says they have a lot offensive talent and they will pressure you on defense.  “The one thing about them next to Crestview they probably put out the most skilled guys of five guys that you could put on a basketball floor.  That's why you've seen them have some of the offensive explosions that they've had.  They are very guard oriented that can shoot it, can pass it, can attack and take you off the bounce,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So, our challenge for us is can we slow down enough offensively that it allows us to stay in the game.  Then number two, can we you know handle some of the different pressure looks that they're going to present with what they try to do defensively with going up tempo trying to get you to play faster than what you want.  We've got to be able to attack it and look at how we're trying to score and execute against their pressure, but in the same token we have got to do what we do best and that's run our stuff and we've got to take the time to do that.”

          This is likely a tempo game.  Sheldon says they have to limit the number of possessions.  “I think it's definitely a contrast to tempo and styles between them and us.  I think that's going to be probably the precipitating factor of who comes out in the end is going to determine who gets to play.  Whether it's their guys that are patient enough to do that or us.  That's going to be the challenge can we take good shots at the right time at the right rate and at the right pace.  So, it's going to be vital for us to do it if we want to come out and go get a “W,” he said.

Published 1/04/23

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Western Has to be Focused

          Western Reserve will be at home for New London in a Firelands Conference game on Thursday night.

          Last Thursday, they lost (50-39) at Monroeville in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they just were not consistent enough to win the game.  “We played so good in the first half to be up two at the half and the third quarter unfortunately some of our areas of weaknesses compounded itself with unforced turnovers and poor defensive rotations and it led to a 21-6 the run that we couldn't get you turned around.  We got down 13 going into the fourth.  We did a heck of a job of battling it back and get it down to four points with the ball and just couldn't get over the hump from there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Our last two losses have been that way where our long runs of bad offensive possessions stacked on top of it with defensive breakdowns and going scoreless and just not getting good looks has been our Achilles Heel now and our last two losses against good basketball teams.  That's our challenge right now, how do we become more consistent.  We know we're going to go through possessions where we don't score, but how do we limit the length and the span of those and that’s where we have got to get better.”

          Sheldon says they have to eliminate those big runs they have been allowing if they are to become a better team.  “We're not a team that's offensively ever going to be confused of being explosive right now.  What we have to do is we just can't afford to allow our opponents to go on those 8-0 runs, 6-0 runs, 10-0 runs, 10-2 runs.  It's a combination of having good offensive possessions, getting good looks, not having careless turnovers and then being able to go back down and at least get a good look offensively, so we can set up our defense and make them earn everything they get.  That's been where we've fallen on our face.  When we're not able to get good looks or we have careless turnovers and then that leads to easy opportunities for our opponent and then it creates those 8-0, 10-2 runs and that's right now what we're trying to avoid,” said Sheldon.

          Western Reserve (3-5,2-3) hosts New London (0-7,0-4) on Thursday night.  The Wildcats last game was a (52-40) loss to Plymouth on December 16.

          Sheldon they not good enough to take any win for granted.  “The (Gavin) Carruthers kid can really score.  The (Conner) Bryd kid is 6’8”.  They're coming off playing probably one of their better games against Plymouth there a week and a half ago.  We can't by any means overlook anyone.  Like I just said, we're not offensively explosive enough to do that and we haven't shown the ability to blow anybody out.  So, we've got to go into it with the mind frame of figuring out how do we continue to get more consistent and making sure we're handling the basketball, running our offensive execution and as best as we can.  Then trying to make sure we come back down the other end and make them earn everything they get.  That's got to be a focus for us and like I said just the challenge of trying to stack four quarters on top of each other playing good basketball and that's ultimately what we're searching for right now,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/29/22

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Now it’s Consistency For Western

          Western Reserve, coming off its best performance of the season last Friday, will play at Monroeville on Thursday night in a Firelands Conference game.

          Last Friday, they beat South Central (52-45) in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they finally were able to slam the door when they were in position to win.  “I mean just to finally close one out in the fourth quarter of a competitive ball game to make the right plays on both sides of the ball coming down the stretch and just giving our kids not just confidence that they can do it, but the opportunity to experience to follow through with it.  That's critical as we continue to try to just build our ability to compete at the varsity level and so much of that is being able to do it number one, but then now knowing in the back of our minds that we're capable and able to do those type of things to win basketball games,” he said.

          After having stepped up in the fourth quarter against South Central, Sheldon says now they have to do that on a consistent basis.  “I mean in any sport and anytime you're trying to be competitive, let alone good, it's all about that consistency aspect and can you repeat it time and time again.  Can you make the right plays?  Obviously there will be different circumstances in the next close ball game we play, but in a lot of aspects it’s still doing the same things, getting a stop, getting a score, making the right read, making sure we're all on the same page that is on the floor we're communicating those ideas and those directions to one another so we can continue to execute as a cohesive unit,” he told Swankpnsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Our ability to repeat that's going to be a challenge for us, but in the same token that's one that we're looking forward to especially as we know if we are going to have a chance to beat Monroeville and this next game it's going to be another close competitive basketball team game against a good team.”

          Western Reserve (3-4,2-2) is at Monroeville (3-4,2-2) on Thursday night.  The Eagles chased conference leader Crestview hard last Friday before losing (62-59) to the Cougars.

          Sheldon says they have outstanding guard play.  “The one thing they have is obviously they have two great lead guards in (Jimmy) Clingman and (Aidan) Goodwin and both guys played really well I thought against Crestview and it was key to their success and them being right there taking Crestview to the end.  The one thing about both of them is along with being good players they have so much game experience.  So, you expect them to play well, you expect them to be at the top of our league this year.  I'm sure they expect that of themselves and so we know to go over to their place it's going to be a great challenge for us, but one that's going to start and stop with those two and how well we guard them and while we make their night challenging,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/21/22

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Western Reserve a Step Away

          Western Reserve and South Central has been the best basketball rivalry in the Firelands Conference in the last decade and it renews on Friday night at Western.

          The Riders (2-4,1-2) played well in both conference games this past weekend, but came up empty in losing (59-45) to unbeaten Crestview on Friday and (45-41) to Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday.

          Coach Chris Sheldon was pleased with the efforts, but says they just couldn’t get over the final hurdle.  “We go down to Crestview and it’s a six point ball game in the fourth quarter at the score and where it was, we were really happy and excited because that's all we wanted was a close ball game.  We're down six in the fourth and we get consecutive back-to-back stops and we just weren't able to capitalize offensively and they went on a little 6-0 run and they had the distance they needed to make it difficult.  So, that was some steps in the right direction for us to compete against that kind of basketball team at that level and be there with an opportunity,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Then we turn around on Saturday night again we're down 11 in the second half and come back and take a one point lead with four minutes to go.  That's really again another major step that we were able to get that many stops and scores stacked on top of each other to get back in it.  Unfortunately, though in the last three plus minutes we just made some critical mistakes at both ends of the floor and St. Paul didn’t.  That's why they came out victorious and we came up on the short end.  So, from where we were three weeks ago to where we are today that is a vast improvement.   Now it's we have got to take that last step and be able to figure out how to finish off fourth quarters where we can come out on top,”

          Chris Buchanan, Western’s only player that played at all on their district runner up team last year, played hurt in both games last week.

          Sheldon says he played with a lot of heart and guts.  “He didn't practice all week.  His ankle was the size of a softball and you know he's just been tough kid.  I even talked to him about hey wait maybe we need another day's rest and we'll try to get one game out of you rather than not get much out of you over two games and he was persistent said coach I'll be fine and to go out and get 21 and 15 boards against that team just shows you his grit and toughness.  Then he went back out and tried to give us everything he could on Saturday night, but he didn't have a whole lot of spring in it.  Now, he will get a week’s rest and some more therapy and he looks back to his normal self.  So, you know that is just the leader he is and the toughness that he has and so far that's part of the reason why we've grown leaps and bounds from week one to week four,” said Sheldon.

          South Central (3-2,1-2) beat Plymouth (64-26) and lost (63-50) to Crestview last week.  They have a new coach this year in Cory Durbin.

          Sheldon says one thing they do have back though is Isaac Blair and he is tough to guard.  “New coach, new philosophy, but man they still got stud last name Blair.  That's something I'm going to be happy about after this year is over that I get a reprieve from having to try to figure out game plans to stop those kids because man he's a heck of a ball player.  He's obviously elevated his game to a whole other level again this year.  I've just really been impressed with him on film.  So, he's going to get a lot of our attention.  They've got some other kids that are playing well around him.  The Mitchell kid really had a nice start to the year and carry over from the football season to where he is now.  Then they got some nice shooters around him.  As much as Blair's going to get our attention, we can't lose sight of everybody else they put on the floor because you saw what they did last week at Plymouth.  They really shot it well and that's going to present a multitude of problems for us defensively,” said Sheldon.

Published 12/16/22

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Western Reserve With Big Task

          Western Reserve faces a double weekend in the Firelands Conference as they travel to Crestview on Friday and entertain Norwalk St. Paul on Saturday.

          The Riders beat Plymouth (53-51) in their conference opener last Thursday and then competed with talented Keystone on Saturday before falling (52-39) in a non-league game.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says he says saw some glimpses of good play last week.  “I thought we went down to Plymouth on Thursday and the second and third quarters we really looked like a basketball team.  We were really efficient offensively.  We didn’t turn it over and really executed some of our defensive schemes extremely well.  Got the shots we wanted and made them.  We were able to build a nice, double digit lead before Plymouth really came back and changed some things defensively and caused us some problems that we didn’t adjust and handle well.  We were fortunate to hang on and get a league win on the road, which for an inexperienced team was something that we desperately needed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Then as good as Keystone is, and they are good, we got down and didn’t play well early and were down by double digits and were able to make it single digit lead with under three to play in the fourth with opportunities and we just didn’t execute and get what we wanted and fell short.  We showed some real resiliency and courage to fight against a good basketball team.  So, I felt like we took steps in the right direction and now we have to turn the page to the league favorite and tough task at hand.”

          Crestview (3-0,1-0) was the preseason choice in the conference.  They beat St. Paul (69-39) in their conference opener and Tuesday night drilled Crestline (65-36) in a non-conference game.

          Sheldon says the Cougars are loaded.  “Ringler, Cash and Thompson really can play.  They can score it at all three levels whether it be off the bounce at the front of the rim, their mid-range game, or step our beyond the line and knock down threes.  When you have three guards that can control tempo and score it in the manner in which they do that is going to present a multitude of problems for us defensively.  Then they have some nice contributing pieces.  Barker, the athlete we all know he is, that plays around them and a couple of the other guys that they bring in.  We have our hands full just at the defensive end alone let alone offensively.  They are going to get up and they are going to pressure you and they are going to try and deny to take some things away and speed the game up and we have to be able to manage that.  It is going to be a task at both ends of the floor and something our guys are going to have to grow and learn and try and attack and be more aggressive and not fear failure and more importantly accept the challenge.  That is going to be neat to see how it unfolds on Friday night,” said Sheldon.

          St. Paul (1-2,0-1) beat Fremont St. Joe (60-56) in double overtime on Saturday night for their first win.

          Sheldon describes them as an up and coming team with good young talent.  “We know they are on the cusp of being back.  They are really excited about their junior and sophomore classes, as they should be.  They have some nice basketball players back that can pass, dribble and shoot.  When you can pass, dribble, and shoot in the game of basketball it makes it a little easier and they have that.  Now, they are in the same boat as us in that they are just trying to get varsity experience and see how fast that learning curve for them is.  They have some nice depth with bigs and guards and we are going to have to with whatever happens Friday night bounce back quickly or it is going to be a long weekend,” he said.

Published 12/08/22

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Western Reserve Headed the Right Way

          Western Reserve, the defending champion, opens Firelands Conference play on Thursday night at Plymouth against the Big Red.

          After getting smoked in their first game by Margaretta (60-22) the day before Thanksgiving, they beat Mansfield St. Peter’s (52-43) on Saturday night.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they made the right progression.  “Honestly, we just needed an opportunity to get back on the floor quickly Saturday after Wednesday’s debacle.  Margaretta is pretty good, no doubt about it, but we really looked like a bunch of guys that never played varsity.  Some young guys on top it.  In that game, we were trying to play a million miles an hour and versus their type of pressure and their type of veteran presence and guys with experience it just got ugly.  It wasn’t for lack of effort, we were just trying to do way too much, way too fast,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “To bounce back on Saturday, we were able to slow things down a lot more.  We were able to make some adjustments from what we did the first time around.  So, we saw success and progression and that is all that you want.  That has sort of been our focus for the last four weeks, just get better on one thing each day and keep building on it.”

          Sheldon says each player needs to understand what his role is with the team and embrace it.  “One of the things we talked to this week with our guys in practice is you have to understand what value you have as basketball player.  Your value isn’t how many points you score, your value isn’t whether you start or come off the bench, value isn’t whether you play varsity or JV, but it is what you bring to the floor every time you step on and what your role has been outlined and take some pride in that.  Take pride in getting better in an area that we have outlined for each player that you have to improve upon.  If you have a mindset to focus on one task at time to get better and you take pride in that and that’s what your value, we are going to get better individually and get better collectively.  That has really been our message right now and with our guys hopefully we are starting to see some dividends in that,” said Sheldon.

          Plymouth (0-2) got thrashed (71-48) by Seneca East on Tuesday night.

          Sheldon says the teams are kind of similar in makeup and they need to establish control in the paint.  “I think they are the one team like us in our league that has a nice mixture of bigs.  I think that is interesting to see who’s bigs play better and who’s bigs are able to impose their skill set on the others.  The other thing is they have the Bishop kid back, who has done a nice job for them at the one.  I was impressed in their opener just being able to distribute and get guys in the right spot, so we have to do a good job of trying to contain him.  It is going to come down to maybe the team that gets the 41st because both of us are pretty methodical, both of us try to run our stuff.  Whichever kids can execute it better is going to be able to come out on top,” he said.

Published 11/30/22

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Western Reserve Showing Improvement

          Western Reserve, the defending Firelands Conference champion, opens the regular season at home on Wednesday against Margaretta in non-conference action.

          They will be inexperienced, but coach Chris Sheldon says they are making the kind of improvements that he likes to see.  “I feel like over the last week we have taken some steps in the right direction offensively to at least understand what our identity is going to be and how we have got to play form a style perspective.  Trying to realize that get individuals to understand where they best fit into our offensive scheme and have them on the same page as to what their coaches are thinking.  Defensively, we are still a work in progress.  We highlighted a couple of things that we thought we were really not very good at a week ago and spent a lot of time on it.  As our last couple of scrimmages came around we definitely saw improvement in those areas and that is all you can ask for,” said Sheldon.

          Sheldon says you aren’t sure what you are going to get from inexperienced players on opening night and many times it isn’t a good predictor when it comes to the rest of the season.  “For us the one thing is that is really hard on opening night.  Opening night can also be misleading.  Some guys will have the game of their life and other guys won’t play that well.  Over 20 plus game that stuff really balances itself out.  I am one of those that I don’t want to put too much stock into one game, especially because how inexperienced we are and we just want to keep hitting and emphasizing some of our key takeaways on both sides of the ball that we have to get better at.  For us that is what we are going to measure ourselves against.  Then if we can stack those things on top of each other week after week then we will start to see a lot more progression and we will pay a little more attention to the results and what we are doing,” he said.

          Margaretta shared the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division last year and advanced to the division IV regional.

          Sheldon says they do return some talent from that team and have added some guys.  “They bring three guys back from their regional qualifying team from a year ago.  Cameron Sosa obviously has the most experience and a guy that is going to have to be a very good scorer for them this year.  (Hayden) Willey and (Evan) Miller each provide them with some length and strength and ability to knock down some threes, especially the Miller kid.  Having three guys back with that kind of experience is definitely going to help them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Then they bring two really, really good freshmen into the mix in Julian Washington, a transfer from Sandusky Perkins, and Juda Keller, the coaches son.  Coach’s kids, I am a firm believer that they are pretty darn good just because they have been in a gym their whole life.  Everything that we know about those two is they are highly talented freshmen that they are expecting big things.  Their starting five is going to give us a lot of fits and then they bring a sophomore off the bench that can play too.  They have some experience, but they also have a mixture of youth.  We just have to see if we can hang around and make it a ballgame for four quarters.”

Published 11/22/22

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Western Reserve Looking for Answers

          Western Reserve is the defending Firelands Conference champion and district runner up, but the Roughriders are going to be short on experience this season.

          Coach Chris Sheldon says they really only have one player returning from last year and they are trying to find other players that can contribute something at the varsity level.  “We look like a basketball team that lost their top seven basketball players from a year ago.  We do have one guy back that was key in our group last year.  He has done a nice job, but in the same token he is adjusting to being in a completely different role,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “With that said, we are looking at 11 other guys that are trying to figure out who can play at the varsity level, who can fit a role and more importantly who can provide a skill set on at least one side of the ball that can contribute to positive plays for us.  That is really what we are searching for right now those guys that can provide that sort of impact that makes our team better and makes winning plays whether that is defensively, whether that is rebounding or whether that is offensively scoring or run in function with our offense.”

          Sheldon says this is a team that will need to show consistent improvement, especially early in the season once they throw the ball up fore real and turn the lights on.  “It is going to be a process and we knew that.  We knew with everything that we lost we knew it was going to be a feeling out process and it is going to take some time and part of that unfortunately with us about a week away from opening night we are going to run out of time practice wise and scrimmage wise and we are just going to have to roll with the punches on game nights as well and sort of what we expect over this first month,” he said.

          Western Reserve opens the season on November 23 hosting Margaretta in non-conference play.  Their first Firelands Conference will be December 1 at Plymouth.

          Sheldon says they are in the process, and will be in that process for a while, of finding out who can play at the varsity level and how they fit in.  “We have really tried different combinations in scrimmages.  We have really tried to put kids in roles that we think maybe they can be productive for us just to try and gage who can and who can’t and isn’t quite ready.  That is the beauty of having 12 guys to look at because we systematically only play about seven.  That is what we are trying to find to fit those type of roles.  Unfortunately, when you are inexperienced some of that is also youth.  One day who have got to figure out with a certain combination of kids and the next day a kid or two takes a step backwards and somebody else steps up.  It is that constant juggling of trying to figure out who can put it together and be consistent enough to give us a chance to be formable come game night,” said Sheldon.

Published 11/15/22

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Western Reserve Faces High Powered Northwestern

          Western Reserve, of the Firelands Conference, makes the trip to Northwestern, co-champion of the Wayne Athletic League, in a first round playoff game in division VI on Friday night.

          The Roughriders (6-4) crushed Trinity (48-7) last week in a non-conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they played well and it was a good jumping off spot for the playoffs.  “I thought we really came out quick.  We came out the way we needed to and got things going early.  I think we scored on three or four of our first four or five possessions.  So, it was a good way to start the game.  We kind of got some other guys in the game.  So, it was good, it was about an hour drive, which is similar to what we will have this week, kind of an unknown place we are going to, it was a good prep for what we are going to have Friday night,” he said.

          Northwestern (8-2) whipped Waynedale (42-10) in a “WCAL” game last week to clinch a share of the title with Dalton.

          Stevenson says this is a team that has been well tested and is electric on offense.  “The Wayne County League is always really good, really strong, physical football teams, and they are co-champs of that thing, so you know they are going to be a really good football team.  Their quarterback is a phenomenal athlete.  He can throw it, he can run it.  He really does a great job of extending plays, so you have to make sure you continue to play to the whistle is blown,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “You have four or five guys that can really catch the football.  What sticks out probably is #12 and #7, #12 is like 6’1”, 205.  They have two or three guys that can run it.  They are big up front, anywhere from 200 to 240 pounds.  So, offensively, they are very dangerous.  They like to throw the football around and can also run it.  We have our hands full there.  They are a very fundamentally sound 4-3 defense that plays a two high shell and does a great job flying to the football.  If you are going to win in the Wayne County League, you are a darn good football team, so we have a huge challenge this week.”

          One of the better ways to slow down an explosive offense is to possess the ball and Stevenson says they are going to try and do that on Friday night.  “Northwestern has watched enough film and they know that we are going to try and run the football and that is one of the best ways to keep a high powered offense off the field is if you can run it and kind of control the clock and move the chains matriculate down the field.  So, we will try that and see how our hands are dealt to us and hopefully play well,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/28/22

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Western With Playoff Prep

          Western Reserve plays Garfield Heights Trinity in their final regular season game on Friday night.

          They have secured a playoff position in division VI, regional 22 after taking down South Central (42-12) in a Firelands Conference game last Friday.  Right now, they stand 12^th in the region and could climb as high as nine.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says a big run by running back Logan Wiegel was a big play for them.  “I thought we played pretty well.  We came out pretty quick.  It was 14-6 at one point in the first half and they punted to us and pinned us at about the 10-yard line and there was 40 seconds left, something like that.  We were kind of in limbo there, what do you do?  Do you take a knee?  Do you go after a touchdown when you are that deep?  You don’t want to give up something easy to them.  We ended up running just a simple run play and we went for 90 yards.  I think that swung the momentum for us a little bit and I thought we had a pretty good second half,” said Stevenson.

          Stevenson says they wanted to run the ball and were able to successfully last week.  “I think we were over 300 yards rushing.  Our guys pounded away pretty well.  I thought our offensive line really controlled the trenches.  I thought our kids did a good job of taking what they gave us and communicating because they do move around a lot with a lot of different blitzes and stunts.  You have to know where they are coming from, so I thought our kids did a good job handling that,” he said.

          Western (5-4) is on the road for Trinity (4-5) on Friday night in a game that Stevenson hopes will be a good way to transition into the playoffs.  “We were able to watch them Saturday night.  They have some really good athletes.  Some pretty big kids up front.  I think they play some pretty decent football.  It will be a challenge for us.  It is obviously a team we haven’t experienced, haven’t played against,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It is actually at Cuyahoga Heights field, which is turf, so kind of a nice atmosphere.  There is a four lane highway right behind the field.  So, a little bit different than what we are used to.  It is kind of nice to go into a different environment and expect our kids to play well and hopefully we do that.  Hopefully, it will be a playoff like experience for them to be on the road that far away and it will help us get ready for the following week.”

Published 10/18/22

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Western Plays Athletic South Central

          Western Reserve is at home for South Central in a Firelands Conference game Friday night that is important to both when it comes to playoff positioning.

          Western is 12^th in division VI, region 22, and South Central is 13^th in division VII, region 25.

          Last week, the Riders beat Monroeville (40-14) in conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they got off to a good start.  “I thought we played a nice clean game.  I thought our kids showed up and played well early on and that got us off to a good start.  Things kind of snowballed form there and we get 35 in the first half.  We kind of played a good second half and we got some guys in and were able to do some things,” he said.

          Western Reserve (4-4,3-2), in third place in the conference, hosts South Central (3-5,1-3) on Friday night.  The Trojans fell (46-27) to Mapleton on Friday night.

          They lead the conference in passing yards this season and Stevenson says the Trojans present a lot of problems.  “They have tons of athletes.  The quarterback, obviously, has thrown for a bunch of yards this year.  The (Hagen) Adams kid and Isaac Blair are really good receivers.  Hauler runs the ball well.  A kid that probably doesn’t get enough mention is Brandon Smith, #30, he runs the ball really physical and does a great job on the defensive line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It’s a big test for us.  They beat us last year when we were a little short handed.  We have not forgot about that.  We are hoping to play a little better each week and see what happens.”

          Stevenson say a big goal for them defensively is to keep the Trojans athletes in front of them.  “They had a 90-yard touchdown Friday against Mapleton and had several more called back.  So, you have to keep them in front of you.  You have to hope that you tackle well because their athletes are really slippery and do a great job making big plays.  They are hard to pressure because the Mitchell kid does a great job getting the ball out of his hand really quick.  It will be a major challenge for us,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/11/22

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Western Reserve Moving on

          Western Reserve plays over at Monroeville on Friday night against the Eagles in Firelands Conference play on Friday night.

          Last week, it was a tough (21-0) loss for the Roughriders to rival Norwalk St. Paul in conference play.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they didn’t cash in when they had the chance.  “After I looked at the stats, they outgained us by about 40, 50 yards.  We turned it over two or three times inside the red zone and they managed to punch theirs in,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “With the score being 21-0, you never like that outcome, but felt like there were times throughout the game that we played pretty well and there were times throughout the game when we didn’t execute nearly as well as we expect to or want to at this point in the season.  We are going to come back and get ready for Monroeville and hopefully have a good week this week.”

          Stevenson says there isn’t time to pout about not winning last week, they have to focus on getting ready for Monroeville.  “You can sulk over the weekend.  We typically do corrections to Friday night’s game on Monday.  We go over those things we need to get better at and do a better job of and then we have got to put that away and move on.  So, we are thick into Monroeville right now.  They have some really good athletes that pose some major problems over there,” he said.

          Right now, Western Reserve stands 13^th in the standings in division VI, region 22 and it looks like they need to win two of their last three to make the postseason.

          The Roughriders (3-4,2-2) play at Monroeville (0-7,0-3) on Friday night in a conference game.  The Eagles were punished (55-7) by Gibsonburg in a non-league game last week.

          Stevenson says they have some athleticism.  “Both the quarterback and the running back are really fast.  They have great, great speed and quickness.  The quarterback can throw a great deep ball.  They have pretty good size up front.  They run a lot of different formations offensively that we need to make sure we are adjusting to.  Defensively, they run a very good even, four man, front and have shown some odd stuff against some spread teams.  We don’t fancy ourselves as a spread team, so we think we will see mostly that even front.  They do a good job in the things that they do,” said Stevenson.

Published 10/06/22

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Western Must have Great Effort

          Western Reserve hosts Norwalk St. Paul in a critical game between contenders in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.

          The Roughriders (3-3,2-1) trail co-leaders St. Paul and Crestview by a game in the conference standings.

          Last week, they buried Mapleton (31-0) in a conference game.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says their play was outstanding.  “I think it was the best performance that we have put together this year.  Our kids had a great week of practice heading into that and I thought we really executed the game plan, especially defensively, shutting out a team that had done a good job scoring points.  I am really happy for our kids and the way that they played and the way our defensive coaches prepared them all week.  I thought they did a good jog with the game plan,” said Stevenson.

          He adds the defense played a more physical brand of football than they had been.  “We played more physical and thought we played harder that we did early on in the year and I thought we red our keys really well,” he said.

          St. Paul (4-2,3-0) downed Plymouth (35-20) last Friday for their fourth straight win.

          Stevenson says in many ways this is a typical St. Paul team.  “It is another one of coach Livengood’s teams that are going to be very physical and very disciplined and execute the things they do very well.  They present a lot of challenges with the way they run the ball.  They get off the football with their offensive and defensive lines.  So, they are really good again,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have three really quality running backs in Crabbs, Burger and Pocos.  There are a lot of things that you have to try and prepare for.  You hope you don’t give up a bunch of big plays and see if you can hang around to the end.”

          Western has had some success against St. Paul in winning in two of the last three years and Stevenson says to beat them you can’t take any plays off because they won’t.  “You have to stand in there every play.  They are going to bring it to you, they are going to battle every play and you have to be willing to stand in there yourself and bloody your nose and get after it and be very physical and stay low on the defensive line and work hard and hope you can play well.  We have had some pretty good games these last three years and we are hoping we can compete again this week,” he said.

Published 9/29/22

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Western Plays High Scoring Mapleton

          Western Reserve takes the bus to Mapleton on Friday night to take on the Mounties in a Firelands Conference game.

          They hammered Plymouth (49-29) last Friday.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they ran the ball really well against the Big Red.  “I think our kids have continued to battle all year and work on things to get better.  I really thought our offensive line did a great job executing the schemes that we wanted to.  I really thought our backs, especially Logan Wiegel, ran really hard.  We kind of got him going a little bit. Conner Dawson has a really nice game there as well.  Rhett Gross from the quarterback spot ran well too,” said Stevenson.

          The win broke a three game losing streak and Stevenson hopes they are hitting their stride now.  “You continue to work every week and try to play really hard and hope you get the results you are aiming for.  We have another big test this week, so we look forward to that,” he said.

          Western Reserve (2-3,1-1) plays at Mapleton (3-2,0-1) on Friday night.  The Mounties lost at Norwalk St. Paul (54-20) last Saturday in a conference game.

          Stevenson says they must stay disciplined against the Mounties offense.  “They look really good.  Coach (Matt) Stafford does a great job executing things that they do.  They run some pistol wing-T stuff and they do it really well.  They some really good athletes.  A lot of juniors and sophomores that are playing really well for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They are big up front and they execute really well.  So, it is going to be a great challenge.  We are going to have to be up for it and make sure we stay disciplined and do the things we need to do.”

          When it comes to the pistol wing-T, Stevenson says they have seen something similar to that earlier this season.  “Margaretta ran something very similar to that.  Coach Stafford was at Black River for a long time and that is where it started at, they did a great job there with it, and now he has brought it to Mapleton with him.  It is something where you have to be disciplined and make sure you are doing your job or they will find the places where you aren’t and take advantage,” said Stevenson.

Published 9/21/22

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Western Reserve Wants to Build on Last Week

          Western Reserve will host Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night after putting in a sound effort, but losing last week to the defending conference champions.

          The Roughriders (1-3,0-1) played pretty hard, but they were their own worst enemies at time in losing (24-12) at Crestview last Friday.

          Coach Ty Stevenson says they played hard on every play, but still made too many mistakes last week.  “Last year it was a game we had won.  We had an injury take place and obviously that game turned around a little bit.  This year, I thought our kids played really hard.  As hard as I have seen them play, something we have been searching for a little bit.  We still didn’t execute all that well at times.  We fumbled twice inside the five-yard line in the fourth quarter, which would have proved a little different on the scoreboard.  Sometimes that happens,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “We are going to continue to work hard and make sure we take care of some of those things.  I was happy overall with our effort.  I thought that was the hardest that we have played.  Maybe got a little tired toward the end.  Crestview is a very, very talented team.  They have a ton of kids that play good football.  Overall, pretty happy, obviously wanting to win, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.”

          Plymouth (3-1,1-0) hammered Monroeville (41-7) in their first conference game last week.  Shea Sparks scored three times for the Big Red.

          Stevenson says on offense they have a lot of kids that can make plays.  “They are very explosive.  I think Caiden Allen finished third in the State of Ohio in the 100 meter dash.  Shea Sparks in the backfield is very good, the (Layne) Bushey kid and the quarterback are both very adequate runners.  They do a lot of unorthodox things and they make things tough for you on the defensive side of the ball.  They are very explosive scoring a lot of points.  We have to be ready to go and make sure we are reading the things we have to read to take care of business,” said Stevenson.

          Plymouth has scored at least five touchdowns in all four of their games this season.

          They run a lot of double wing, double tight and some single wing.

          Stevenson says they are difficult to prepare for.  “It definitely stresses your scout team offense and it stresses your defense to make sure they are aligned correctly with all of the different shifts and movements and different formations that they run.  They make things hard on you,” he said.

Published 9/12/22

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