Willard Crimson Flashes/Sandusky Bay Conference News

Willard Wants to Get in Transition

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Joe Bedingfield

          Willard welcomes Liberty-Benton on Friday night for a sectional final game in division V.

          The Flashes (18-4), #4 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, have played a tough schedule this year, especially out of conference.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield feels that prepares them well for the tournament.  “We played Margaretta twice in our league and towards the end of the year that was one of our one of our last three games.  They've been one of the better teams in the state.  Ontario with the kind of team that they have this year.  Aggressive with good guards that get after you and that was a good challenge for us.  Overall good game for both teams this time of year.  Bellevue is playing really well.  They played a really tough schedule and that was kind of a back and forth game that got away, but credit to them and their defense.  We didn't particularly shoot it that well that night, but they also were able to defend and take some things away from us that we can usually get.  Those are the types of teams that you want to see at this time of year.  Well coached teams that play hard and have a lot of wins.  It does challenge your kids and it gets them in that mindset that we play tough before and we've overcome it in some regards and we also know how we got beat by it.  So, it's all a learning experience and this the time that it really matters,” said Bedingfield.

          Liberty-Benton (15-7), the Eagles finished third in the Blanchard Valley Conference, have a solid basketball tradition.

          Bedingfield says they have height and shooting ability.  “Well, a 15 win team playing in the “BVC”.   They have good length and they have good experience.  Older kids that have played varsity basketball for a while.  Their 6’6” forward Holler really can play inside out.  We'll have to do an excellent job on him and limit his touches.  They have a nice shooting guard in Thomas, who does really good job going strong to the basket, but also can shoot the three at a high percentage, over 43% on the year.  They have another (Luke) Gerken, who is a coach’s kid, who has kind of been battling a little bit of injury back and forth.  He’s 6’6” and can go a little bit outside and in too.  They have good length.  They mix up their defenses.  They're well coached, they execute their sets really well.  It's going to be a battle,” he said.

          Bedingfield says they need to rebound and handle the ball, but most of all have fun and lose.  “It's going to be a challenge for our young guys to come out there and try to take some of their sets and things away.  We have to come out and push the pace a little bit more in my opinion.  They're a very good defensive team only giving up 40 a game.  So, we want to make it a high aggressive game and play lose.  This time of year I think you got to play lose. You have got to have fun,” he told Swankonsports.com om Thursday evening, “When you have a young team in a test like this.  We want them to understand that we have played a good schedule.  We've beaten some fairly good teams and we should be tournament ready with how we played throughout the year.  So, we're going to have a difficult time keeping them off the boards, but this time of year rebounding is imperative and taking care of the ball, handling their press is really important.  So, valuing the basketball and rebounding basketball as well as shooting with confidence is how we would be successful.”

Published 2/27/26

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Willard Has to Handle Clear Fork Pressure

          Willard tangles with Clear Fork on Tuesday night in a division V district semifinal at Kansas Lakota High School.

          The Lady Flashes (19-4), #3 in the final Swankoonsports.com coaches poll in the small school division, crushed Huron (52-21) in a sectional final on Saturday afternoon.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they played well on both ends.  “I thought our girls did a pretty good job.  Huron was really ready to go.  They came out of the gate and hit some good shots and we responded really well with some defensive pressure and defensive intensity.  Then we made some shots on the offensive end as well that that opened it up a little bit for us.  So, I thought our girls played well down the stretch and we're able to come out with a good win,” she said.

          Clear Fork beat Willard (61-39) in a district final last year, but the Lady Flashes played that game without Reese Bedingfield, who did not play due to a knee injury.

          The Lady Colts (19-4), #5 in our poll, also had an easy time in their sectional final in thrashing Galion (60-31) on Friday night.

          Coach Bedingfield says Clear Fork’s approach to the game has not changed much.  “They're very similar to last year's team.  They have great shooters, they shoot a lot of threes, they drive really well to the basket, they get downhill really well and then they convert,” she told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “On the defensive end they do a really good job pressuring the ball and getting in the passing lanes.  They move really well on the defensive end and they crash really hard.  So, they're very good team and they're really well coached.  So, we're hoping to handle the ball, handle their pressure and then give them some defensive intensity on that defensive end and try to get some turnovers as well.”

          Bedingfield says they need to defend the Clear Fork shooters and handle their press.  “They definitely like to push the tempo.  We've seen on film a lot of times where they take it from end to end and if nobody stops the ball and they just go into the score or pull and shoot a three.  So, they do push the tempo, they like to get a lot of possessions in.  We've got to negate that with playing our offense and making sure that we're taking care of the ball, we're moving the ball well and doing what we need to do on the offensive end.  Then defensively, we've just got to make sure that we're giving them pressure, we're out on their shooters, we're boxing out and only allowing one shot opportunity,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/24/26

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Willard Focused on Huron

          Willard is at home for Huron in a division V sectional final game on Saturday night.

          The Lady Flashes (18-4), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, were runnerup in the “SBC” Bay, and winners of the 10 of their last 11 games.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says this is a team that really has improved a lot as the season has gone on.  “Yeah, I feel like we've definitely gotten better as the season has gone on and we've gelled a little bit better.  I think we've really focused on defensive intensity and getting touches on the ball, really pressuring the ball and moving the ball.  We've added a few new defenses and so I think our girls are feeling comfortable defensively and that leads to some good offense.  When you're playing good defense it leads to good offense.  I think our girls are really doing a great job of just hustling their butts off on the defensive end and that leads to good offense,” said Bedingfield.

          Huron (7-15) finished at the bottom of the Bay Division standings.

          However, Bedingfield says likewise the Lady Tigers have improved too.  “They have only gotten better as the season has gone on and that's what you want.  You want a good game and so they have a lot of great shooters.  They have really athletic post players that do a really good job inside, they rebound well, and they run the floor really well.  So, we've got to make sure we're back in transition, we've got to make sure we're out on those shooters.  They have multiple people who can hit the three and so that's one of the things that we focused on in the past and we will continue to focus on on Saturday,” she said.

          Willard won both regular season meetings (57-15) December 5 at Willard and (56-36) on January 10 at Huron.

          Bedingfield says her team as to have focus.  “We've gone into our last several games with the championship mindset.  Even when after we were going through the “SBC” championship and we were searching for the “SBC” championship we were talking every game prior to the Margaretta game about that this is the championship game and you have to come the championship mindset and a championship start every time you step on the floor,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “It's not just the game day, but you've got to prepare yourself for that team with that championship mindset and that winning mindset every day in practice.  So, that's something we have focused on and we definitely got to be focused on it on Saturday because I'm sure that Huron will be prepared.  They know everything we're going to do and so that makes it a little bit more challenging the third time around, but I think our girls are focused and ready to go.”

Published 2/19/26

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Willard Has to Handle Ontario Pressure

          Willard plays at Ontario in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Both teams need to bounce back from significant losses on Friday night in league games.

          Willard was throttled (90-45) by Margaretta in a battle for the top spot in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they did not handle the Polar Bears press.  “The middle two quarters really hurt.  First quarter, some things did go away even though we were down.  We got it to 11-8 and Washington was in foul trouble.  We felt pretty good about it.  The Morris kid hit a big three for them to get momentum in the second quarter.  We didn't handle their press well.  They made some adjustments and kind of extended almost a 2-2-1 press in the middle quarters there and were able to fall back into a 1-2-2 match up.  We just kind of stood around a lot and that's on me.  Our kids didn't have good movement, didn't find the middle of the zone early enough,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We made some adjustments in the second half had a couple stops and a couple creeks there in the third quarter.  We tried to tell the kids to get it down to close to 10 and then we'll try to make it a game in the fourth quarter.  Just trying to do your best to adjust what they've already done, but Margaretta is a very good team.  They made us pay from the outside.  They hit 15 threes from the outside.  Julian Washington, who's a division one recruit, only had seven.  If you had told me he'd had seven and Judah Keller had 11, I would think that we probably won the game.  Credit to them, Kale Bailey hit 32 and Morris had 20 something, but they hit 11 threes between both of them.  So, they stepped up for their team and unfortunately for our guys we let them go on big runs and had too many live ball turnovers.”

          Willard (17-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Ontario (14-6) in non-league play on Tuesday.  The Warriors, likewise, were smoked on Friday in their case by (88-43) River Valley in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action.

          Bedingfield says Ontario will press them too, plus he says they are skilled offensively.  “I see very talented guards.  They can hurt you with their press.  They play extremely hard.  They change their press a little bit.  Sometimes they go full court man and they go into a 1-2-2 and mix up a zone and man press.  They really thrive off of their pressure defensively and they do good job of turning you over, getting out of transition.  In the half court Brown and Flenoury both do good job of getting to the basket.  You could try to double team them off a ball screen or something like that.  They do a good job of splitting you.  Jones underneath does a really good job of offensive rebounding,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says Ontario, and Bellevue on Friday, will be great preparation for the tournament.  “It'll be a great test for us on the road before we play a tournament game.  That's why we put these games on our schedule.  With Ontario and their athleticism and the style that they play.  It'll be good for our young guys go against that type of pressure.  Then with Bellevue on Friday and the style of defense that they play with their length and everything will be a challenge getting ready for Liberty Benton in sectional final at our place,” he said.

Published 2/17/26

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Willard Has to Value the Ball

          In one of the biggest games in the region on Friday night, Willard is at home for Margretta in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division.

          A Flashes win means they will share the division title with Margaretta.

          Willard put themselves in position with a (61-46) win at Port Clinton in a division game Tuesday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they were able to remain patient.  “I think for our young guys, at this part of the year they're not young anymore, they have got enough experience to stop calling them young, but we did a good job withstanding.  Port Cinton was ready to play and they built a lead on us early.  We withstood that there in the first quarter and then cut it to two.  So, it's an important part of basketball.  You are always worried that with young guys, especially can they handle it mentally when other teams are going to be ready to play you. They’re good basketball teams and they're preparing like you're preparing.  It's a big game for them with RPI and things on the line.  Our guys were able just to take it for what it is as they came out ready to play.  It's not that our kids didn’t come ready to play.  Port Clinton hit some shots early and was well prepared, credit to them.  Credit to our kids for withstanding that in the second half kind of kind of getting into a rhythm defensively.  Holding them under 48 points with huge for us on the road and I just think that that's a good sign heading into Friday night,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (17-2,8-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, hosts Margaretta (17-3,9-0), #2 in our poll.

          Margaretta won the first meeting (67-55) on January 9.

          Bedingfield says the Polar Bears are very good in transition, they rebound the ball, and above all they are winners.  “It's easy to say the basketball part of it, but winning breeds winning a little bit and those kids have won a lot in their career.  What makes them good is live ball turnovers.  They do an excellent job of getting out in transition.  What I mean by live ball is when you turn it over and they turn it into transition points.  We just have to be able to value the basketball and value each possession,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “You can't take bad shots against them or they'll make you pay.  They're able to rebound the ball so well, especially from the guard position.  They might not have the tallest team that we see all year, but their kids are strong, they're athletic.  Judah Keller rebounds just as well as Kale Bailey from the rebounding position.  Obviously, Julian Washington does a good job of rebounding as well. Then you throw in Tyson Bailey.  They just have a really deep, experienced team that can hurt you in a lot of ways.”

          Bedingfield says they pressure well and they take good shots. “They like the speed you up.  Not only is it transition a problem, but also their defense.  They extend into a 1-2-2 three quarter court trap and they put Washington at the top and he's really athletic and long.  If you throw too many cross court passes without pass fakes they'll make you pay.  They do a good job in the half court.  I think they're really unselfish and that's a credit to the coaching staff because they do have guys who could score it.  Julian Washington I don't know I asked “Hirsh” have you ever seen a kid shoot outside jump shots and shooting 80% from two point range?  That's pretty remarkable stat.  He's very efficient.  He doesn't take bad shots and he's very unselfish,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield emphasizes they have to have poise.  “We just have to value each possession.  We really have to try to rebound and limit our turnovers.  I just think that we got to play with poise.  So, you can't get too high, you can't get too low because they're a good team.  Even if we do get some shots early on we have got to continue to play our game and not let them get into a rhythm, which they can do very easily.  Do a nice job of just keeping our composure and understanding that like we told the kids, it's just another basketball game.  Don't make it bigger than it is and play loose and have fun and enjoy it,” he said.

Published 2/013/26

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Willard Has a Plan

          Willard, a game back in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays on the road at Port Clinton on Friday night.

          The Flashes handled Vermilion (59-45) in a division game last Friday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they played pretty well early, but they have to finish better.  “Especially in the first half.  They came out ready to play and Myers hit a couple shots early and we got down six. Then our kids responded really well.  We ended first quarter I think on a 20-0 run.  I think we did a nice job in the first half.  Still kind of hesitant and some sloppy turnovers in the second half.  Overall, in four quarters of basketball we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball late.  We've been trying to work on some different things to secure that when we have a lead and how to play and just get a little more continuity and flow.  That will come because we need to get ready for that for the tournaments and some of these bigger games like this Friday at Port Clinton,” he said.

          Willard (15-2,7-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, takes the long trip to Port Clinton to face the Redskins on Friday night.  Port Clinton (13-6,3-5) edged Huron (53-48) in a division game last Friday.

          The Flashes beat Port Clinton (52-39) on January 2.

          Bedingfield says they are athletic and they rebound well.  “They're good and they have two big players inside with (Zach) Speer and Leis that that are real good.  The point guard really makes them go, Jones.  Wilson and Peck been playing really good.  They're starting lineup is really good.  They get out in transition well.  They are a good rebounding team.  Streaky on the shots.  At times they're hot and other times you know they're little off.  They can get out in transition.  They can run, they can hurt you on the glass if you allow it.  They're much improved from a year ago,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They were kind of young team last year and you can tell with all their varsity experience that they're getting better each and every time.  They just beat Huron and Bowser.  So, they're playing good basketball at the right time.  It's always difficult to go on the road sometimes that place and that travel can be a task for kids to wake up.  We have got to be ready to start playing from the beginning and get off to a good start and hopefully finish a four quarter game, which is something that we're really trying to emphasize.  Not just being happy being with the lead.  It's playing a complete game and trying to win each and every possession.  I think that's what good basketball teams do.  They don't just look at the scoreboard and they actually try to win each possession and that's something that we're trying to harp to our kids right now.”

          Now, the Flashes have their rematch with Margaretta next week, but Bedingfield says they can’t look ahead.  “I think our league is very balanced where anybody could actually beat anybody. Margaretta has a little bit of advantage with some of their kids and their lineups that they have.  For the most part, the rest of our league is very balanced and you have to be ready to play.  We've proven that just some of our teams beating up on each other that kind of surprised us and then they would flip flop the next time they played.  So, we definitely have to keep focused this time of year.  It's old coaching cliche, it’s one game at a time.  We've been harping on our kids since the loss to Margaretta that every time we step on the floor that it's a championship game because that's the only way that you're going to get a chance to play for a championship is if you treat it like one because Margaretta is not going to lose and we know that.  We just want to have an opportunity to play our best basketball this time of year in February and it starts Friday night,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/04/26

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Willard Will Try to Take Advantage

          Willard will host Vermilion in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          The Flashes stand a game behind Margaretta in the Bay Division.

          Last Friday, Willard smoked Edison (68-44) in a division game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they played very unselfish basketball.  “We got off to a good start.  I thought we did a good job of speeding them up a little bit defensively.  I thought our guys did an excellent job of making the extra pass and trying to stress that and trying to get defenses to guard all five guys on the floor.  You can only do that with passing, in my opinion, and you can only do that with unselfish play.  Our guys really enjoy playing with each other and it's a credit to them and how bad they want to win.  They are willing to give up a good shot for a better shot and I think that's really important and what good teams do,” he said.

          Willard (13-2,6-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at home against Vermilion (7-8,2-5), on Friday night.  The Sailors drilled Port Clinton (51-31) last week.

          It was the Flashes that won the meeting between the two (64-53) December 23.

          Bedingfield says Vermilion has a lot they have to defend.  “I think they have a very solid team.  They definitely have a very athletic, experienced team with (Mason) Cooper and (Brock) Meyers and what they bring back and (Luke) Richardson, the 6’7” kid they bring off the bench or start sometimes has really been good playing well for them.  I think we have our hands full at home because they are playing with a lot of confidence.  They played really well against Port Clinton at home, beat them by 20.  They're very physical team.  They have got good size.  We were able to come with a win up there, but it's going to be a very different game depending on what our kids are able to do defensively and rebounding could be a huge factor as well.  We're both playing pretty well right now, so I expect it to be a four quarter game.  Hopefully it comes down to execution and our guys take care of that and continue a little bit of a win streak,” Bedingfield.

          Willard has won it’s last four games and 12 of its last 13.

          Bedingfield says they are always looking for matchups.  “We got beat at Margaretta, but we have got a little bit of momentum.  With a young group of kids that might not have as much varsity experience as some other teams we want to make sure that they know it's a new week.  You have got to clear the last week out of your head and kind of get ready for the next opponent.  The more you win sometimes the target gets a little bit bigger on you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “You just have got to continue to play your best basketball and see what kind of matchups we could look for and kind of who's playing well.  That's the big part our defense matchups and out offensive matchups.  See what we can try to take advantage of.  I think that's really big this time of year because you have enough stats on everyone and what the other teams are liking to do.  So, we try to take advantage of matchups.  If we can do that, and we can win that war, and take care of the ball and rebound, I think we'll be alright.”

Published 1/30/26

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Willard Must Rebound

          Willard, a game back in the standings in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bat Conference, plays at home against red hot Edison in a division game on Friday night.

          The Flashes trail Margaretta by a game in the league standings.

          They beat Huron (61-47) in a division game last Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they responded to a slow start.  “They came out and kind of a different type of defense and we got a little stagnant and credit to them.  They got us standing around a little bit and played a little slower.  I thought the kids respond in the second quarter and were able to tie it up and then came out in the third quarter and sped it up a little bit full court and made it more of a transition game, which was good for us.  That got us moving a little bit more.  I thought we handled the second half much better than the first half.  Like I try to tell these guys the more games you win the bigger the game becomes. Teams are well prepared for us and not surprised that we would play good basketball, so they're giving us their best shot and rightfully so,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (12-2,5-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, entertains Edison (6-7,2-4) on Friday night.  The Chargers beat Vermilion (70-61) in a division game last Saturday.  After a slow start they have won six of their last seven.

          Willard won the first game (69-63) on December 19.

          Bedingfield says they creating a lot of scoring opportunities.  “They're playing really good basketball, credit to.  They have two very nice players and some very good role players in (Coltyn) Meagrow and (Cole) Leimesiter, who have a lot of experience and a lot of athletic ability.  They can create their own shot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “A lot of kids can score, but not many kids can create their own shot.  It’s something those two can do really well.  It was a close game at their place well.  A lot of our league games have been pretty close.  I think they do a good job of defending the cup, especially with Meagrow.  They make work a little bit.  He's a good shot blocker and Leimesiter is a good defender and can get after you on the ball.”

          Bedingfield says they have to avoid a bunch of turnovers and get on the boards.  “I think our guys are ready to go and terms of not being surprised that we're going to get Edison’s best shot again.  We have just got to do a better job I think of taking care of the basketball than we did the first time and not losing some of their shooters.  This time of year rebounding is the difference between wins and losses and extra possessions.  Not only defensively, but offensively.  I think we have to do a better job getting some offensive rebounds and extending possessions,” he said.

Published 1/23/26

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Willard Has to be Focused

          Willard hits the road Saturday to face the Huron Tigers in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          They are in second place in the division, a game behind Margaretta.

          Tuesday night, they downed Clear Fork (58-43) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingield calls it a good win for the Flashes.  “We got off to a good start.  That was important to us because I wasn't sure how it would come out after a big weekend playing Margaretta and Shelby and playing Clear Fork on Tuesday night.  We got out to a good lead at halftime.  The Clear Fork fought back as we would expect of them.  They kind of made it interesting eight to 10 points and then we were able to pull away there the end.  Happy to get them win at home.  A lot of games in a little bit of time there, so that was a good test for our guys and get ready for a league game on Saturday,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (11-2,4-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Huron (5-7,2-3), on Saturday night.  The Tigers beat Vermilion (53-50) in a division game last Friday.  They beat Western Reserve (53-49) in a non-league game on Saturday.

          The Flashes won the first meeting at Willard (52-40) on December 13.

          Bedingfield says the Tigers are improved.  “We had a very good game at home with them the first time.  They have two very good players, really more than two, but two that most teams focus on (Quentin) Conway, a good point guard for them, scores, gets to the basket, hit five threes against his us last time, very capable point guard, leads them in scoring, and then the (Parker) Schafer kid has been a problem for a lot of people keeping him off the boards.  They're on a two or three-game winning streak right now and they're playing their better basketball than the first time we played them.  So, we expect a four quarter game with them and they're definitely improving,” he said.

          Bedingfield says they have to expect that the Tigers are going to give them a better game.  “Hopefully the same result.  They definitely do a good job of preparing.  Our guys have got to understand that, being a little bit younger too, is you win a few games you get a little bit excited and complacent.  Teams are out there that have might have struggled at times and are playing a little bit better, like Huron.  They're hungry for a win and hungry knock you off, so you have to be mentally prepared to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We have to do a good job defensively.  They can really hurt you on the boards.  We saw them play Port Clinton and they do a good job and play exceptionally well at home.  We can’t say that we won by double digits last time and that’s the way it’s going to be because it’s not junior high, it’s varsity basketball, and coaches prepare well and teams are definitely getting better as the season goes on, especially after Christmas.”

Published 1/16/26

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Willard Playing Unselfish

          Willard, in second place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at home against Edison on Thursday night in a division game.

          They are coming off a (56-36) win at Huron in division play last Saturday afternoon.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says she likes the way they are playing right now.  “Bellevue's tough team obviously and we backed it up with Margaretta right before that.  So, those were some tough games.  To go into Huron and come out the way we did.  We really started the first quarter really well and just trying to build off that momentum going into (Thursday) night,” she said.

          Bedingfield says they have really been working on combinations this year and the girls have bought in to what they are doing.  “We've kind of told our girls that we don't really have just five starters and it's kind of different every night.  We've had a couple injuries.  We've had a back injury and just some ankle injuries.  So, our starting lineup has varied a little bit.  I just don't feel like we have five starters,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I feel like any of our girls could start and so it's kind of been fun to kind of see when one person is down what the others can do.  They step up and make it happen.  We're still kind of figuring out where everybody's roles are, but it's nice to have the depth that we have where the scoring is equal and the girls just don't care who's scoring and who's getting the rebounds.  It's just nice to have a team that that's unselfish and plays to win.”

          Willard (9-3,5-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball poll in the small school division, is at home for Edison (5-8,1-5) on Thursday night.  They lost (50-45) to Vermilion in a division game on Saturday.

          The Lady Flashes won the first meeting (51-33) on December 12. 

          Bedingfield says they have to play a complete game.  “They have some good shooters.  I think they've gotten a lot better since the last time we played them.  Honestly, they played really well last time we played them.  We were actually tied at halftime.  So, I think they have some really good elements to their game.  They do have great shooters, they crash the boards really well, they play really hard and play really good denial defense.  So, we've definitely got to take care of the ball and make sure we're owning the boards and rebounding well and taking care of their shooters outside,” said Bedingfield.

Published 1/15/26

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Willard Holds off Shelby

          Willard scored only five points in the fourth quarter, but the Flashes held on to beat Shelby (53-50) in a non-conference game played at Bob Haas gym on Saturday night.

          Shelby (6-3) cut an 13-point deficit down to just one (51-50) with :10 seconds left on a Brayden DeVito layup, but Willard sophomore guard Kaleb Weaver pounced on a lose ball that had been knocked away by the Whippets and then converted both free throws with :08 remaining.  Shelby could get just a throw at the horn.

          Willard (10-2), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coached poll in the small school division, went over 7:00 in the fourth quarter without scoring.  Gage Stover had given them a (50-37) lead with 7:20 to play on a twisting layup.

          DeVito had a steal and score with 2:17 left to cut the Willard lead to (50-46), but the Whippets missed four consecutive free throws over next minute and half.

          Willard coach Joe Bedingfield says they kind of put the ball in the freezer, but they were able to make just enough plays to win.  “Time and score, we talk about it a lot, maybe we got a little hesitant at times.  I thought we got some good looks.  We missed some layups with Jaxson (Hall) and some other things.  We have still got some young kids in there that aren't used to playing varsity basketball and get bumped a little bit here and there.  We have just got to be a little bit stronger when we play.  It was a good learning experience for ours guys.  I thought we could take it learn from in practice with situations and the score.  I thought I had to call a little bit too many time outs the bail them out a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It's that fine line you walk.  Do you stop attacking.  It’s like the prevent defense in the NFL.  Kaleb Weaver knocking down free throws at the end as a sophomore was a good sign.  He dove on a lose ball and got that foul and that was a huge play that probably a lot of people didn't think about.  We have got to do a better job in the fourth quarter.  It's a good weekend overall.  We played tough team on the road and we were down a few points with three minutes ago and lost.  Then we responded by beating Shelby at home, so that's good the weekend.”

          Shelby coach Greg Galloway says they were able to get back in the game, but them couldn’t make the plays to get the victory.  “We gave ourselves an opportunity to get back in the game and gave ourselves a shot at the end to win it.  Unfortunately, we didn't.  I wish we would have executed a little bit better down the stretch.  We had some open threes that we didn’t make.  You have got to make free throws, especially late in the game.  We're not there yet as a team and we're going to continue to work to try to get there,” said Gallaway.

          A number of the Shelby kids were also part of their state runner-up football team that play physical.  Bedingfield thought they handled that physicality pretty well.  “I thought Tiffin Columbian last week was physical and that kind of got us ready a little bit from Shelby.  It’s not the biggest Shelby team that we've seen, but they are physical and they're athletic and they can get into you.  They turned it on the fourth quarter because those kids have been winners the whole career and credit to Greg (Gallaway) for turning up the pressure and making some plays down the stretch.  It's a good sign that kind of handled it.  This is a kind of a tournament atmosphere and that's a good sign that young kids were able to handle it withstand some mistakes,” said Bedingfield.

          It was a different sort of first quarter as Willard took an (11-0) lead in first 2:42 of the game, freshman J.J. Bedingfield made two threes and Weaver another.

          However, after a Shelby timeout, the Whippets responded with (18-0) run and the first quarter ended Shelby leading (18-12).

          Gallaway was proud of the way his kids responded all night.  “We didn't do a good job at the beginning of the game being very detailed to the personnel.  We let (J.J.) Bedingfield kid get some open looks.  He's shooting at a high percentage here, one of the best that they've seen and he made us pay early.  Credit to our guys they went on an 11-0 run and like we got we have got hardnosed kids that want to fight back to those challenges,” he told Swsnkonsports.com., “That's basketball, teams are going to go runs, so we have got to answer.  We were able to do that in the first.  They went on a run in the second half and we answered it again.  So, that’s a credit to our guys and their effort and their relentless attitude.”

          Beginning the second Willard was leading (31-28) and they consistently built the lead to that 13-point cushion early the fourth, but again the Whippets would fight back.

          Gallaway says the Willard’s length gave them some problems, especially in the paint.  “A little bit at the rim as far as finishing.  When you play against team with a little bit of length it makes it a little bit more difficult.  So, that's something we have got to get better at using our shot fakes and going through contact.  When there's teams that have been length around the rim sometimes you want to shy away from that and you want to try to finish away from the rim and that's haven’t always been very good for us this year.  We did that a couple times (Saturday) night, so we have got to get out of that,” he said.

          J.J. Bedingfield had 15 of his team high 17 in the first half for Willard.  Jaxson Hall had nine of his 13 in the Flashes third quarter run.  DeVito led everybody with 22.

          Coach Bedingfield says they ran some good offense Saturday night.  “I thought early on especially we did a good job of spacing the floor bringing the bigs away from baskets so the guards could try to make recuts on the perimeter.  That's one thing, they're so tight defensively and into man that sometimes they open up some lanes and sometimes they open up some back cuts.  I think we got a good flow (Saturday) night offensively, especially early on,” he said.

Published 1/10/26

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Willard Must Contain Margaretta

          Sole possession of first place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference is on the line Friday night when Willard travels to Margaretta to lock horns with the Polar Bears.

          The Flashes improved their winning streak to eight in a row with wins over Port Clinton (52-39), in division play on Friday, and (60-50) over Tiffin Columbian on Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they did a lot of good things.  “I thought it was a very good weekend for us.  I thought we played very good at home in Port Clinton.  I thought we did a good job of rebounding and transitioning, spacing the floor a little bit and keeping their bigs away from the basket.  I thought the first back to back of the year for us to go to Tiffin and play a team that is really scrappy.  Coach (Jac) Alexander is doing a good job of getting them playing hard.  They’re a very physical team and the record isn't an indication of how good that team is.  It was a battle for four quarters and we were lucky enough to come away with a win on the road.  So, playing some younger guys with the first back-to-back that was a good experience for us and it couldn't be prouder of my guys,” he said.

          Willard (9-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is at Margaretta (10-1,4-0), #2 in our poll, on Friday night.

          Bedingfield says the Bears have a lot of winning experience and they explode in transition.  “Their transition, they get the ball down the floor really quick.  They have five experienced players that are good athletes.  One thing that they thrive on is live ball turnovers, which is where you turn the ball over and they take it transition.  It's not just like a walk or anything like that that gets called for a turnover.  It's more of the steals and the flics from behind.  They have a lot of experience.  They have a lot of winning experience and that that matters,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Julian Washington is a heck of a player, going to Dayton.  Judah Keller, their point guard, been there for years and has a lot of experience.  Then they can hurt you other ways with Morris and both of the Baileys, one underneath and one outside.  They do a good job sharing the ball.  I think they're very unselfish.  They just want to score and they play high level basketball and they defend you.  They defend you hard and it's going to be a good environment, fun environment for our young guys going there and trying to accept the challenge.  We're hoping that we can limit the live ball turnovers and limit the transition run outs that they get and we can go in there and rebound.”

          Bedingfield says they can’t allow Margaretta to go on those six, eight, 10 point runs.  “We were lucky enough last year to be tied with them at halftime at their place and they found a different gear in the second half.  Sometimes when you playing young guys they get a little emotional and think that you're playing well for a while and it's going to be like that.  Good teams are always going to find a way to rally the momentum.  Better teams always understand that there's going to be peaks and valleys in the game and you have got to play kind of in the middle and find your momentum back.  I think that's the one thing about Margaretta, you can feel pretty good.  It can be a 5-6 point game at some point and then all of a sudden you're down 16-18 points because you continue to struggle with taking care of the ball.  They do a really good job of closing gaps, stunting and getting out in passing lanes,” said Bedingfield.

Published 1/07/26

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Willard Needs to Rebound

          Willard will be at home for Port Clinton in a Bay Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          On Saturday, they were in Indiana at the site of the movie “Hoosiers” and beat Monroeville (60-59) on a last second shot.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they were really excited.  “It was a great experience for both teams, I think.  I was talking to their coach Bob Fries about it beforehand and they did very similar thing that we did.  We showed our kids the movie.  We made it kind of an important trip after they saw the movie and they kind of loved it and we're looking forward to it.  I think both programs were looking forward to it.  Monroeville has got an excellent team and they’re going to get better and better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It was a back and forth game and they led most of the game.  They’re a physical team.  We were lucky enough just to turn them over enough later in the game to give us chance.  Mason Dawson hit kind of a Jimmy Chitwood shot, should have been at the buzzer, a three in the corner.  Both teams played hard and have got a lot of respect for each other.  It was a good high school basketball game and a good memory for our kids.”

          Willard (7-1,3-0), #3 in the first Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, shares the lead in the Bay Division with Margaretta and they play host to improved Port Clinton.  The Redskins (6-3,1-2) lost (58-42) to Huron in a division game on Saturday.

          Bedingfield says Port Clinton has showed a lot of improvement.  “Port Clinton is really improved.  Their guards Jones and Wilson are very quick in transition, very good at getting to the basket, much improved outside shooting from last year.  They're a year older and more experienced and they still return two bigs.  The big difference is going to be on the rebounding situation.  They're quick and they're physical inside and we're going to have to do a really good job of rebounding the basketball to give ourselves a chance.  I thought Huron did a very good job of rebounding basketball against Port Clinton and we kind of tried to harp on that a little bit (Monday) in practice,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says in addition to rebounding they need to keep the Redskins from penetrating.  “Rebounding is going to be a key, but also keeping them out of the paint and the transition because Jones can really get it down the floor really quick and space you out and make you pay for it.  So, defending in the transition and keeping them off the boards is going to be the keys to our game.  We have got to do a better job of doing those two things,” he said.

Published 12/30/25

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Lady Flashes Pointed the Right Way

          Willard has lost only one game as we near the halfway point of the season and they are playing good basketball.

          The Lady Flashes share the lead in the “SBC” Bay with Margaretta.

          They edged Seneca East (44-42) in double overtime on Monday night.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they did a solid job handling the Seneca East pressure in the late going.  “It was a good win.  Seneca East is very physical.  He changed up defenses a lot, which kept us on our toes.  I think in the third quarter we kind of had a tendency to turn it over a little bit and that got them back into the game.  It was just kind of a back and forth game in that second half a little bit.  We were actually behind in the last couple of minutes of the game and were able to get a rebound and a shot to send it into overtime.  Then overtime again,” she told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Our girls did a nice job handling the pressure at the end and keeping their composure with the defensive pressure that that Seneca East was putting on us.  They did a really nice job of making some adjustments at halftime and getting us to be a little bit uncomfortable in that second half.”

          Bedingfield says they didn’t shoot the ball well, but they found a way to win the game.  “It was probably our worst shooting night of the season so far.  We hit one three and that's just not like our team.  We have some good three point shooters and that's something we spend a lot of time doing during practice as well.  So, not a good shooting night for us.  We had to find other ways to score.  We had to find other ways to make a difference.  Some of our girls who are used to shooting well and contributing in that way had to find other ways to contribute.  Had to get to the hole more, had to rebound more.  So, finding ourselves in a position where we were working on different aspects of the game other than just being good shooters from the outside,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (7-1,3-0) has only one loss and that comes to unbeaten Ashland.

          Bedingfield says they are absolutely getting better.  “You start the season and you're not quite sure where everybody fits.  Even though we have a lot of experience there is some newness with Reese (Bedingfield) coming off of her injury and LaMya Hicks, didn't play a ton last year, but she's really improved this year.  Just seeing how everybody fits together is always new at the beginning and I think it takes a while to get everybody you know fitting into their roles.  Absolutely we've gotten better.  I think we've gotten better at defensively at some different things.  I think we've learned to keep our composure a little bit better.  Still things we need to work on and get better at absolutely, but yeah headed in the right direction,” she said.

Published 12/24/25

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Willard With Special Opportunity

          Willard, an early co-leader in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will play at Vermilion in a division game on Tuesday night.

          They get special opportunity to play at the “Hoosiers” gym against Monroeville on Saturday.

          On Friday night, they bested Edison (69-63) in a division game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they made enough plays down the stretch to get the win.  “Edison has two really good players.  As much as we tried to take them away and tried to slow them and transition and tried to keep them off the boards you have got to give them credit.  Leimeister and Meagrow are two of the better players in our league.  They made some shots and made some plays.  We were just fortunate enough to make a few critical stops in key moments and then hit some free throws to pull away at the end.  There's nothing wrong with learning how to win on the road with the young team and our kids did, but I didn't think we had the same energy and execution that we needed to for four quarters,” he said.

          Willard (5-1,2-0) is at Vermilion (5-2,1-1) on Tuesday night.  The Sailors lost (64-49) to Port Clinton in a division game last Friday.

          Bedingfield says they have a lot of experience and a nice combination of players.  “They have a lot back from last year's team.  They have size and athleticism.  They play about eight or nine guys.  They'll try to extend the floor and get up and down.  They do a really nice job of getting out in transition.  They have the (Brock) Meyers kid, who's averages about 17.5, pretty athletic and active on the boards.  The (Mason) Cooper is a good scorer, good driver, finisher and they just do a nice job of bringing in some bigs and working some high low.  We're going to have to be able to defend the interior and keep them off the boards, but also be able to slow them down transition a little and stop the ball early, which is something that I showed on film this week.  I didn't think we did a very good job against Edison doing that and it's got to get better if we want to hold teams down a little bit.  We have got to be able to make them work a little bit more in the half court than what we have been doing lately,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says Saturday should be a cool experience.  “It's an interesting opportunity to give kids a kind of a memory.  A different time and era.  When I was a kid it was one of my favorite movies.  Probably was a lot of kid’s favorite movies just kind of takes you back to a small town Ohio, obviously it's in Indiana, but where we grew up Willard basketball was basically the number one show in town.  You have got to drive 30 minutes to go see a movie or to the grocery store when you’re from Willard.  So, it's something that I fell in love with.  I had these kids since they were ball boys, a lot of them, and they're good kids.  I know Willard basketball is important to them,” he told Swanonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I just like to do special things for them.  In year’s past we've played where the Cavs play and done some things like that, Sports Force.  This was just the opportunity.  I've never been to Knightstown, Indiana, and Monroeville was gracious enough to agree to go with us.  I know it's important to both communities and they're basketball programs.  It's kind of interesting because in the 80s there was a time in ‘84 that both teams were down to state tournament in Monroeville and Willard.  So, there was a time that small town basketball was really important.  Nowadays everybody's on their phones and can stream it and do all this other stuff.  I really think our kids enjoyed it when we got to watch “Hoosiers” as a team on Saturday.  They have a better understanding of the era and the movie, so they're really excited for it and it's something that we're all looking forward to.”

Published 12/23/25

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Willard Needs to Grow

          Willard heads for Edison to meet the Chargers in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          They are coming off a convincing (70-51) win over Carey in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they made it their kind of game.  “Carey is a big physical team that still might be a little bit more in football shape than basketball shape.  We have got a few extra games on them.  They took it to us inside and tried to play a little half court with them early on and it was about 9-8.  In the second quarter we decided to pick up a little bit more in the full court and do a little bit more in the full court and get out in transition a little bit easier.  I think the guys picked up the pace.  I think we scored 26 in the second quarter and it kind of helped us get a little relief for halftime,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We just kind of extending the floor on them and changing defenses and trying to get them standing on the offensive end.  They do a good job inside and the (Chase) Stone kid is hard to guard inside and did a nice job of rebounding.  So, they're definitely going to win some ball games this year”

          Willard (4-1,1-0) has played some good basketball, but Bedingfield says they need to improve in a lot of areas.  “We have got some kids that played last year that didn't have a lot of experience and now they have a full year under their belt and they're getting better.  We have got some young kids stepping up in some bigger roles.  I feel like we can't get complacent because we still have a lot of good teams on our schedule.  We kind of made that known (Wednesday) in practice.  You get a lot of pats on backs and good wins and all that, but it's really early in the season.  Your goals are out there to get better each and every day.  I'm happy with how they're playing and making the right plays and playing for each other, but we know we have a long way to go if we want to keep getting better and attain our bigger goals down the stretch,” said Bedingfield.

          Edison (0-4,0-1) lost (86-73) to Vermilion in a division game last Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they have two kids that can really play.  “They have two really good players with Meagrow, who's played four years of basketball, is about 6’4”, a good shot blocker, averages almost five shot blocks game.  They have an All-Ohio point guard in Cole Leimesiter, who is a good athlete, he's really good transition.  They have played a lot of basketball for Edison and over four years.  They really get those guys going and they play hard for Dan (Campana).  It's going to be at their place, so we have got to be ready to go.  We have got to be able to stop those two and be able to rebound the basketball, which I thought we didn't do a good job against Carey.  Hopefully, we can do a better job against Edison on Friday night,” he said.

Published 12/18/25

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Willard Wants to Push it

          Willard takes its act to Lucas for a non-conference game on Thursday night and they will be at home for Huron in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division opener for both on Saturday.

          They lost (78-58) to Sandusky Perkins last Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says it kind of got away from them in the second half.  “I thought our kids did a really good job in the first half.  They did an excellent job, but Perkins has got some length and some athletic kids in there.  We kept them off the boards and it was a three point game going into half.  I made some mistakes as a coach too with defensive adjustments and losing a shooter.  A kid got hot and made seven threes off the bench and that's all me more than the kids.  The score didn't indicate the effort that our kids put into it, but that’s a good non league test for us.  We'll learn from it and we'll get better and hopefully prepare us for our league games,” said Bedingfield.

          Lucas (0-1) lost (77-49) to South Central in their first game last Saturday.

          Bedingfield says the Cubs have an inside presence.  “They have got some kids that are strong and they have got some size inside.  They haven't played as many games either.  Corbin (Toms) has made some improvements offseason.  Those kids are playing really hard for them.  Defensively, they're physical and we have got to keep them off the glass.  We're going to try to get out transition, especially early on and do a better job of pushing the basketball than we did in the second half against Perkins,” he said.

          Huron (1-2) comes calling on Saturday night and Bedingfield knows the Tigers are going to be a tough challenge.  “The Tigers are playing pretty well.  They beat Galion.  They had chances to beat Tiffin.  They played a tough non league there too.  (Quentin) Conway is coming back off last year's team.  He's kind of taking the role as their go to guy and doing an nice job for them at point guard.  They like to run a lot of ball screens and get to the basket, a lot of ghost screens,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “It's going to be a good test because they played Perkins too in a similar type of game, non conference game, kind of got away from them, but they played them pretty tough.  They had Tiffin on the ropes at Tiffin.  So, Parker Schafer inside is tough to keep off the boards.  They have got some younger kids playing hard for them.  So, it'll be a good challenge for our kids.  Thankful to be playing them at home, but we have got to continue to worry about Lucas first and then get ready for Huron on Friday.”

Published 12/11/25

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Willard Will Has to Handle Ball, Rebound

          Willard will host Sandusky Perkins in their home opener on Saturday night in non-conference play.

          The day before Thanksgiving they edged Upper Sandusky (69-63) in their first game of the season.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they did a lot of good things, especially for a young team.  “I thought our kids hung in there.  It could have went either way. It was a game that was pretty close throughout.  Upper had the edge at halftime.  It was a six point game.  The kids just got a couple stops and at the end hit two big shots.  I thought for a young team on the road that was a good victory and it was good to start off with the season a win,” said Bedingfield.

          The Flashes are playing a lot of young kids at the varsity level and Bedingfield liked the way they reacted in that first game.  “That's what you want to see, especially they didn't really have any nerves going into the game just trying to focus on playing basketball something that they do all year.  They're going to react, especially younger guys.  Our guys have played enough basketball, I think they just go out and play.  It was good to see, especially mostly freshmen and sophomores out there competing at a high level.  We had great leadership from our senior Mason Dawson, who almost had a double double,” he said.

          Perkins (2-0) beat Cardinal Stritch (64-46) on Thursday night in a non-league game.

          Bedingfield says the Pirates are athletic.  He says they will need to take care of the ball and hit the boards.  “Well, they're very athletic.  They return some guys from last year's team that was really good 16, 17 win season.  They have had that growth.  The (Bryce) Davie kid is running the point guard and doing a nice job.  They have athletes, they like to extend the floor a little bit and use their athleticism to create turnovers.  For right now they have good length, which might pose a problem if we don't box out, take care of the basketball and use fundamentals like pass fakes against their zones in the extended the floor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We just kind of focusing on taking care of the ball.  Rebounding is going to be a big, key factor in the game.  We've been harping all week on putting bodies on people and hopefully our young kids are up for the challenge.  I think it should be a good game.  I'm glad it's our place and it should be a good challenge for us

Willard Wants to Play Loose

          Willard will be over at Upper Sandusky to start the boys’ basketball season on Wednesday night.

          The Flashes has a lot of young kids and coach Joe Bedingfield says they are excited to play.  He says they’re ready.  “That's the plan obviously.  We've had enough practices.  We started on time.  We don't have a lot of excuses other than just preparing the best we can.  We have got some younger kids and it's their first experience, but we also bring back some kids from last year.  I think the kids have really put a lot of time in the off season and just trying to keep them relaxed and loose because with that first game gets going I think they get a little bit too amped up and in the basketball you got to have to kind of keep that level head a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Just be ready for the action.  Go catch their second wind and play loose and have fun and see how the game goes from there.  We always wonder what it's going to be like when the people get in seats and the popcorn is popping, so we'll find out on Wednesday.”

          Bedingfield says even their younger players know what varsity basketball is all about.  “I think we have a lot of kids have been around the game a lot.  Actually, took a picture with some of the kids on team picture day they were my ball boys my first year and they're playing for us.  So, they've been around our program.  They've seen a lot of successful teams and they kind of know what it takes to be successful because of our alumni and all the good years that they put together.  So, they've been around it long enough where they kind of know what to expect, but it's still different when you're when it's you and the games are going on,” said Bedingfield.

          Upper Sandusky is kind of inexperienced too, but Bedingfield says they know how to play the game.  “I think they're kind of comparable to us a little bit.  Coach (Jeff) Winslow is always going to get his guys to play really hard and they play really fast and they shoot a lot of threes.  They have got a nice young group coming up and bring some experience back with (Josh) Heilman and (Luke) Schoenberger.  They share the ball, very unselfish and they play pretty good defense and get after you full court.  So, it'll be a good experience for us and especially at their place.  So, I'm excited just like the kids are,” he said.

Published 11/25/25

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Willard Has to Get Better on Defense

          Willard will have a lot more players this year that are used to playing varsity basketball and that is going to help them win more games.

          The Flashes were (7-15) last season working with a very young unit.

          Coach Joe Bedingfied says almost all of those guys are back and have shown improvement.  “We played heavily three freshmen, four at times, we started three.  We basically ended up mainly playing three freshmen last year and some good minutes.  Jaxson Hall averaged about 15 is a freshman for us at the point position.  Jake Rothhaar was a defensive, high energy, kid that worked so hard this summer on his shot.  Unfortunately, we lost him in football to a torn knee ligament and he's going to be out.  We have Kaleb Weaver, who played a lot last year, and played a lot better towards the end of the year.  He's going to be a guy that is going to be relied on a lot as a sophomore.  Then we have a bigger kid inside Gage Stover, who started his first game for us and then kind of bounced around JV and varsity.  Got some experience at both and he's got a lot better, more aggressive.  So, we're heavy in the in the sophomore department,” said Bedingfield.

The kid with the most experience will be senor Mason Dawson, (11.6) PPG.

          Bedingfield says Dawson has made himself a better player.  “We bring back Mason Dawson, who was a pivotal piece last year, kind of inside-out and he's really worked on his body.  He's a lot quicker, a lot more confident, stronger.  So, we have got guys who have a year under the belt and they're all coming back.  We lost Kellen Cooper from last year's team, but we got a couple other young guys in the mix that are going to be new.  They're freshmen, so we're a little younger, but we do have at least a year under our belt and we're bringing back some experience,” he said.

          During this preseason, Bedingfield says what they need to work on the most is their defense.  “Just a lot of defensive positioning, rotation, being able to handle some of the physicality that level.  Rebounding is a concern at times for a lot of teams and it's definitely a concern for us.  Just rotating on drives, getting out and having that mentality of defending his one instead of just worrying about your guy and if they're going to score, they're off ball positioning,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think offensively we can score.  We do have guys that can shoot.  They do work on the shot quite a bit and that's a good thing.  There are many other aspects to the game defensively and rebounding, not turning the ball over because of fatigue or mentality or decision making because the game might be a little bit faster than it was before.  Hopefully with that experience.  Some of them are sophomores.  Mason obviously knows a lot about what to expect this year and kind of the pace that we want to play and things we want to do.  We've been trying to harp a little bit more on the defensive end because we got a lot of work at that end to do.”

Published 11/13/25

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Willard Can be Really Good

          Willard clearly has the building blocks to another successful girls’ basketball season, which starts in a couple weeks.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says really they have everybody back for a team that went (17-8) last year.  “We're returning all letter winners really.  We have seven freshmen coming in and then we've got two returning letter winners who are juniors and have been playing varsity since they were freshmen and then we've actually got five seniors, who are all varsity letter winners.  One is actually returning after not playing last year.  She's coming back for her senior year, so we're excited to have her,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Just a good group of girls, who have played together well, who know what we're trying to do and do have hefty goals.  Our volleyball team has been really successful and so we're just getting our volleyball girls back.  So, we're still trying to figure everything out with them returning.  Lots of experience.  We're really long and we have big goals and dreams for this season and we're just getting started and kind of trying to figure out as we go what we can do.”

          The Lady Flashes volleyball team shared the “SBC” Bay title advanced to the regional tournament and Bedingfield says she likes what those kids bring to the table.  “They've had a lot of success in volleyball in the past couple of years and they bring that winning attitude and that you know no nonsense work to the basketball court as well.  They have really good chemistry, not only with the other volleyball players, but with their basketball players too.  They just know how to win and they bring that to the basketball court as well.  So, I think their experience at winning at a different sport really helps us at the beginning of this season get going and start winning early.  So, I love that they're successful and bring that to the table and that teamwork as well,” said Bedingfield.

          At the tail end of last season, the Lady Flashes leading scorer Resse Bedingfield suffered a knee injury.

          Her mother says she is almost back.  “Well, she's getting really close to being fully released.  She's released to do everything right now except contact, so she can't go five on five or do three and three, but she's getting really close.  She's working really hard with her trainer.  She's back to squatting 165 pounds, so she's really close.  We've just got to get her kind of weaned back into the contact and she's doing some of that with her trainer now, but she's not in our contact drills yet,” she said.

Published 11/06/25

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Willard Running the Ball

          Willard returns home on Saturday night to host the Vermilion Sailors in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference, or non-conference game, on week three.

          They pounded their second Firelands Conference team in row with a (50-28) win over Plymouth last Thursday.

          Coach Bill Speller says they were really good with the ball.  “It was a really good performance offensively.  Two weeks in a row haven't punted.  Really proud of the way the offensive line has been playing and jelling,” he said.

          Speller says with improved offensive line play they have been able to run it this year.  “The run game has really come around.  We haven’t seen really a whole lot of it since I've been here.  We have struggled a little bit on the offensive line.  Our coach Jordan, he’s called coach Jordan because he’s my son Jordan Speller.  He's doing a great job as our offensive line coach and Trent Mock, another one of our offensive line coaches, are just doing a fabulous job getting these guys ready,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “It's really improved their game and they're really opening up some holes.  So, we're still running our spread offense, but we're not having to throw the football you know 30-40 times a game.  We're able to run the football now.”

          The Sailors beat Willard (41-12) last season.

          Last week, Vermilion smoked Oberlin Firelands (42-12) on Friday night.  Evan Kuhns ran for a school record 417 yards.

          Spiller says Kuhns will run right through you with the ball in his hands.  “We've known about Evan Kuhns for a while now.  He's a real nice running back.  He's been putting in a lot of time for them ever since he was a freshman.  He was a big part of their nice playoff team that they had last year with all those seniors and all those athletes.  He's back and he's a very aggressive hardnosed, real old school looking runner.  He's not the shifty type, he's not flashy, but boy he's just a bull in a china shop out there and he's got some speed and real nice athlete.”

Published 9/05/25

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Willard Better up Front

          Willard, coming off a solid win last week, plays at Plymouth in a non-conference game on Thursday night.

          In game one, quarterback Jake Rothaar ran for three touchdowns in a (46-12) win over South Central.

          Coach Bill Speller says they are better in the trenches this year.  “I thought the big difference for us, especially when going into this whole year is going to be our offensive line, it's very much improved over the last couple years.  They're strong kids, they’re aggressive kids, they’re physical, so we were able to run the football.  Everybody always teases me about how much we throw the football.  We actually ran the ball for 324 yards Friday night out of our spread offense.  So, we finally have that capability and I'm really glad to use it,” said Speller.

          Speller says they played pretty well at the point of attack on defense last week too.  “I thought we played really good on that side of the ball as well.  Once again, we have a much improved defensive line.  I really like our linebackers.  They're flowing to the ball and they're big hitters.  We have got really athletic kids at the defensive back positions.  We are not a big team.  We don't have a lot of depth, but the kids that we throw out there on Friday night are pretty athletic,” he said.

          Plymouth was hammered (51-0) by Lucas last week.

          Speller says the Big Red is having problems with numbers, but they do have some size.  “I know they're struggling numbers wise right now.  I heard they have got a few kids hurt.  They have got some big boys up front.  They have got a nice running back Isaiah Miller and he also plays linebacker for them.  Unfortunately for them they lost two of their better players, the Keith boys.  They actually came over to Willard.  They live in Willard and their senior year they wanted to transfer over here and play for us, so we're benefiting from it now.  They're over here and playing for us and doing a great job and are fun loving kids and we're glad to have them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Plymouth struggled a bit offensively against Lucas.  Lucas is a is a heck of a football program.  When you're struggling numbers wise and you come up against a team like that.  Lucas is just one of those towns, and groups of kids they're just hardnosed and physical, small town America kids that are just going to go out there and battle.  Plymouth really struggled with that I felt.  So, we'll see what happens.  Hopefully, they can get some kids healthy and ready to run the rest of the season.”

Published 8/26/25

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Clear Fork Takes Down Willard

          The last time Clear Fork won a girls’ basketball district title Madonna had just released “Like A Prayer”, later that year an earthquake interrupted the World Series and Jake Worner was holding court at the barbershop, it was 1989.

          Okay, the last one still happens.

          Saturday night, the Lady Colts beat Willard (61-39) in a division V district final played at Shelby High School.

          This year’s team has a real connection to 1989.

          Head coach Scott Sellers says his assistant Kerri Gottfried is the bridge.  “It’s really special.  Our assistant coach Kerri Gottfried was on the last team that won a district in 1989.  She's been such an integral part of everything that we're doing.  For her to be on the bench when these kids get a win.  She said the other day, it's your time.  I remember the last time it happened here, I was part of it.  We want people to start talking about you now.  I think that message really resonates with the kids,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Sometimes we might not look like we're overly excited or whatever, but they expect to come into these games now and really compete and win.  I think that's what they did (Saturday).  They played a really solid, sound, aggressive game and I couldn't be more proud of them.”

          Gottfried never draws attention to herself, but she has been a key part of a lot the school’s athletic success over last quarter of a century.  She was a longtime assistant under her husband, hall of fame softball coach Jeff Gottfried.

          Saturday night, Willard (19-6) took a (6-2) lead, but Lady Colts caught them at (7-6) on a Mel Blubaugh three from the left wing and they never trailed again.

          By the end of the quarter it was (18-10) Clear Fork.

          Willard would get as close as (22-17) after a Emelia Tallman with 5:28 left in the first half.  However, Clear Fork would hold the Lady Flashes scoreless for the remainder of the quarter and led (31-17) at the intermission.  Eliana Pelkey punctuated that spurt with two hoops to end the half.

          It looked like Clear Fork was going to put the game away for safe keeping with a (7-0) spurt over the first 1:34 of the second half fueled by a three and a layup by Brinley Barnett and Clear Fork was up (38-17).

          However, Willard would not go away they scored the next seven, Including threes by Caitlyn Weaver and Cam Wiers to make it (38-24) with 2:20 to play in the quarter.

          The Lady Colts would steadily build the lead in the fourth quarter, making 6-6 free throws in the final 1:08 to secure the win.

          Sellers feels their relentless pressure defense was a factor in the game.  “I thought that they moved the ball well.  They got behind us a little bit and got some buckets, but overall I thought we got to the shooters well.  I thought we closed out well.  I think we rebounded very well.  We were really solid defensively.  Much better than we were the other night against Edison, but I think that the other night had to happen, so we were prepared more for (Saturday) because we cleaned a lot of things up from that game,” said Sellers.

          Blubaugh, the district 6, division V, player of the year, who scored 25 in a semifinal win over Edison on Wednesday, was held to six by Willard.

          Sellers says they had other players step up.  “She's seen that kind of pressure and that kind of defense.  I thought that they did a really good job on her.  They were really successful with her.  I thought they had a kid with some size on her that could really move her feet, but we had other kids step up.  You can see how much more open the floor is when you have no help side off Mel.  Some of the other kids really did do a nice job,” he said.

          Barnett led the Lady Colts with 13, Lilli Weikle had 12, Ashtyn Wine had nine and Pelkey and Hailly Thrush each had seven. 

          Willard coach Alanna Bedingfield feels her kids did everything she asked of them.  “I thought our girls would a really good job of sticking to the game plan defensively.  We knew we were going to have to give up some threes because everybody shoots threes, but we were focused on controlling who shot them.  I thought our girls did a really good job.  We were more focused on allowing them to get in the paint and pressuring outside so that they couldn't shoot and they made a lot of shots in the paint, probably more than they normally do,” she told Swankonspots.com after the game, “That was our game plan.  I think we got exhausted at the end there.  We made a little run and then they were able to extend their lead.  So, I guess that's how it goes when you have seven girls that you're playing.  So, just really proud of their effort and following the game plan and doing everything that they could.”

          Corrin Gettys had 15 to lead Willard.

          Clear Fork (22-3) meets Columbus Africentric in the regional semifinal in division V on Wednesday night at Ridgedale High School.  The Lady Nubians beat Fredericktown (46-38) on Saturday.

          Sellers says they are excited for the opportunity.  “We're in the Sweet 16 now.  We have got a game next Wednesday against the two time defending champions in Africentric.  I don't know what else you could ask for this time of year.  We're very fortunate to be in this position,” he said.

Published 2/22/25

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Willard Must Control Tempo

          Willard meets Huron, both are members of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, in a district semifinal in division V on Wednesday night at Shelby High School.

          The Lady Flashes (16-7) is coming off a (49-37) win over Crestview in a sectional final last Thursday.

          They have been playing their last couple of games without their leading scorer Resse Bedingfield (14.1 ppg) on the season.  She suffered a knee injury the last time they played Huron on February 4.

          Her mother, the coach, Alanna Bedingfield says they have had to reinvent themselves.  “Losing a piece of your team is hard.  Our girls are doing the best they can.  They're learning to play without a teammate and that's hard and some of them are having to take on new positions and new responsibilities.  Trying to fill 15 points a game and 10 rebounds is not an easy task.  It's not a task that you can ask from a single individual.  It's got to be a team effort filling in the blanks there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're still learning how to do that.  I think they've gotten better at it.  We've had some really good practices where they're taking steps forward and they're filling in those spots.  The people who need to take more shots are taking more shots.  Just learning to play together again it is a little bit different at this stage of the game, but they're doing the best they can and working hard at it every day.  So, hopefully they can put it together (Wednesday).”

          Willard meets Huron (9-12) in a district semi on Wednesday night.

          Bedingfield says Huron has great guard play.  “They have some really good guards.  They have some great shooters, great three point shooters, and they're very aggressive in their defense.  We know that they're going to play hard the whole game.  We know that they're going to play really good pressure defense.  Jessica Brown does a really good job of pressuring our guards and she's a great shooter and a penetrator.  So, we've got to make sure that we control her and have a hand up on the shooters and just know where the shooters are at all times.  (Addie) LaCivita is also a great three point shooter.  So, we've got to know where the shooters are all the time.  We've got to be able to handle their pressure, their defensive pressure on the offensive end,” said Bedingfeld.

          Willard beat Huron in both regular season meetings, winning (56-41) December 5 at Huron and (56-31) in Willard.

          Bedingfield says they must do a good job controlling the tempo.  “Just try to control the pace of the game a little bit and not let their defensive pressure control how fast we're going.  We just need to learn to slow it down a little bit,” she said.

Published 2/19/25

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Willard Has to Rebound

          Willard is at Fostoria for a sectional semifinal in division V on Tuesday night.

          The Flashes (7-14) have won four of their last six, including a (61-53) win over Monroeville on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they are headed in the right direction.  “We had some games we played better and some games that we would like to have played a four quarter game.  I thought we played pretty well against Bellevue.  Bellevue is a good team this year and coach (Ed) Rich has done a good job.  Going into Margaretta and having our kids ready to play and our kids responded.  It was tied at the half and that was that was good to see,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Unfortunately, the second half got away from us a lot.  We bounced back with a Firelands Conference team in Monroeville that’s won 14 games.  We were fortunate to hang on there and pull off the victory right before the tournament.  So, I think they're trending in the right direction.  The kids are playing much better and getting a little bit more confidence.  So, that's what you want to see this time of the year.”

          Fostoria (12-10) has won five of its last seven. 

          Bedingfield says they are a very good rebounding team.  “They are very athletic guards.  They shoot the ball really well.  They have Armstrong and Smith and Miller, who can get to the glass pretty easy if you let them.  You have got to be in the gaps and kind of make sure you kind of protect penetration, especially in transition.  They do a good job of getting out in transition.  I think it's really come down to rebounding.  They extend possessions with their athletic ability and able have quick second jumps sometimes on their offensive rebounds,” he said.

          The Flashes are a team that does not have very much varsity experience and Bedingfield says they have tried to explain to the kids how it is going to be.  “Our guys, it's going to be interesting to see because a lot of them never played in the tournament.   Even our older guys really haven't had the tournament experience.  We tried talk to them about just playing with confidence and treating it like you have the past six or seven games where we played pretty well and play our best basketball because if we don't play our best the season is going to be over with.  I think it should be a good game,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/18/25

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Willard Has to Cut Down on Live Ball Turnovers

          Willard will play at Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division champion Margaretta in a division game on Friday night.

          They host Monroeville in a non-league game on Saturday night to close out the regular season.

          They lost a tough one (67-61) to Bellevue in non-conference play on Tuesday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they did a lot of good things, but they couldn’t get the win.  “Bellevue is a pretty good basketball team and they have some quality wins.  I thought the kids came to compete.  We shot it pretty well.  We made some mistakes down the stretch towards the end of quarters that kind of cost us a little bit.  I thought both teams shot it pretty well, but in offensive rebounds late in the third quarter, fourth quarter hurt us.  When you play the quality opponent like that you have got to play your best.  I thought we gave it our best shot, but we just made a few crucial mistakes at certain types of moments that really cost the game.  Hopefully, we learn from that and clean that up and be able to limit them on the offensive rebounding and do a better job because tournament comes down to defensive and rebounding and that's what we have to do a better job of,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (6-13,4-5) plays at Margaretta (20-1,9-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday night.  The Polar Bears wrapped up an outright division title by beating Huron (63-47) last Friday.

          The Bears won the fist matchup (71-40) on January 10.

          Bedingfield says not only are they talented, but they play the game the right way.  “What's surprising about them is how unselfish they are.  I think they share the ball really well.  They have got some really good players in Washington, Keller, and Wiley, but they share the ball.  No one's looking for theirs.  They just seem to play hard the whole time.  They're a tough team to beat, that's for sure.  What we want to do is improve upon some of the mistakes we made the first game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We were down nine at the half.  They kind of turned up the pressure and we turned the ball over too much.”

          Bedingfield says Friday night and moving forward they can’t have a bunch of live ball turnovers.  “One of the things we talked about was not having as many live ball turnovers.  You're going to have turnovers against athletes like that, but trying to make them where they can't score the ball at the other end and they get some momentum.  That's what they're really good at is pressuring you and running at you and making you turn it over and scoring off of those turnovers.  It kind of flips the momentum the whole game.  I've seen it for a couple of years now and credit them for doing that.  They also are very unselfish team as well and that make them good,” he said.

Published 2/14/25

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Willard Having More Fun

          Willard will be up at Edison to meet the Chargers in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game on Friday night.

          They beat Galion (58-49) in a non-league game on Monday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they had some kids step up.  “We started three freshmen on a road game.  Mason Dawson, who's our second leading scorer, didn't play.  I thought the kids did a nice job of using that as an opportunity.  We talked a lot about you know giving some guys opportunities and they took full advantage of that.  Some kids stepped up with Jaxson Hall leading the way with 26 points and Kellen Cooper, our senior leader, had 18.  So, really, really just feel good about the last couple games I think your kids are playing hard and they're sharing the ball and they're starting to gel a little bit more.  It's good when guys are out and the other guys step up, so that's a good sign,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard has won its last two games and Bedingfield feels they have may have found a key.  “I think we still make a ton of mistakes, but they're hustle mistakes, they're correctable mistakes.  They are a good group to coach.  They're not making the same mistake twice like maybe they were early in the year.  I think we're putting them in a different pace.  I think maybe sometimes things weren't working for a well and we are trying to play at a different pace at times, score more points and get some more opportunities.  They seem to be enjoying that a little bit more.  I think that's a big part of it is finding something that they enjoy doing and playing at a different pace seems to be helping a little bit,” he said.

          Willard (5-12,3-5) plays at Edison (5-1,2-6) on Friday night.  The Chargers beat South Central (81-61) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.  They have won four of their last five.

          The Flashes won the first meeting (47-43) on January 3 at Willard.

          Bedingfield says they have some kids that have picked up their game too.  “They're playing pretty good.  They beat Port Clinton at Port Clinton.  They have the (Coltyn) Meagrow kid, who was kind of out for a little while, but he's come back.  He’s 6’4”, really athletic kid and rebounds the ball really well.  Then (Cole) Leimeister is a point guard, a junior as well and doing a nice job.  Scoring a lot more than he was early in the year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “He's just a quick little left-handed guard that can shoot the ball pretty well and looking for a shot a lot more.  Going to their place it'll be a close game, just like it was at our place.  It's two teams that need to win going into the tournament draw on Sunday, so it's a big game for both teams.”

Published 2/05/25

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Willard Needs More Depth

          Willard will be home on Friday night for a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          In their last outing, they lost (60-49) to Huron in a division game on Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they still lack consistency.  “We got off to a really bad start down 15-2 at the end of the first quarter.  Down 13 going in a second and end up losing by 11.  Sometimes we just don't play a complete game and that's been the story of the whole year.  We have just got to continue to find ways to plug some guys in and maybe get some substitution patterns at this point.  Give some guys some experience, but also trying to figure out a rotation it's working.  Sometimes we give some guys a little bit of a longer leash on the court.  We have just got to continue to try to figure it out, that's part of coaching.  We're working hard, our kids attitudes are good.  We have just got to get that one win and hopefully get to playing good basketball at the right time,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield adds there are still some fundamental things his young club is learning.  “I think winning has a lot to do with getting things turned around in the right direction.  I think we're searching. We're showing them different mistakes that we're making whether it's not valuing the ball, not rotating the right way defensively, not necessarily knowing who to guard at certain times with our different defenses that we're trying to do.  I think the biggest thing is we have got to find what works for each opponent and we have got to find what works for our kids.  It's been kind of a lull on the offensive end of trying to score it.  We're going to try to do a better job of building confidence and making sure that our kids are still playing Willard basketball the way they should,” he said.

          Willard (3-12,2-5) hosts Port Clinton (6-10,2-5) on Friday night.  The Redskins lost (60-59) to Edison in a division game on Tuesday night.  They beat Willard in their first meeting (52-46) on December 28.

          Bedingfield says Port Clinton will have a size advantage.  “They’ve won some games.  They had a tough one the other night against Edison.  They have two nice sized post players.  They have some size advantage with Speer and Finn inside.  They had a nice game the other night with double double for Finn.  They changed their starting lineup as well.  One guard coming off the bench Johnny Peck hit 5 threes the other night.  They haven't been shooting the ball really well from the outside, but with their lineup change it kind of makes them a little bit dangerous to go and double on their bigs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They beat us last time because we turned the ball over too much against them.  They have good size and get out passing lanes and did a good job and they scored and converted off them.  So, we have got to take care of the ball and we're going to have to limit their offense rebounds for sure have to a chance to win at home Friday.”

Published 1/31/25

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Willard Has to Score

          Willard is a basketball team that is struggling to score and Thursday they play Clyde, a team that really scores a lot, in an “SBC” crossover.

          The Flashes (3-10) lost a Bay Division game (42-37) to Vermilion on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they just had a lot of trouble making shots.  “Against Vermilion we just couldn't put in the basket.  We have got to do a better job as coaches to try to get them better looks.  We'll continue to work on that.  We didn't shoot a high percentage from the free throw line.  We were 8-20.  We still had a chance to tie the game even shooting 28% from the floor.  We didn't convert.  We missed all three free throws,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I feel bad for kids because the kids are still working hard.  They still put in some extra time here lately.  They still believe that we can win some basketball games and they're doing a good job of working to improve.  They still have a lot of fight in them.  So, we just have got to continue to find ways to get better easier baskets.”

          Willard has not scored more than 44 points in their last three games.

          Clyde (6-8) has for times this season scored more than 90 points in a game, including a (91-63) win over Fostoria on Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they are going to push the pace.  “They have 10 seniors.  They have a lot of kids that have experience with Olson and Wilson.  They have the green light as soon as they cross half court.  They're going to pressure you.  They will leave their guys at times to go and trap the ball.  They want to play up tempo ball.  We are going to have to do a very good job of stepping through some traps and flashing to the middle of the floor and be strong with the ball and squaring up and not backing away from the pressure,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says they need to take smart shots.  “They'll be a lot of opportunities, but there's also sometimes when teams play like that, they're also speeding you up to take some bad shots.  We want to take some good shots.  There's nothing wrong with playing fast, but you want to play under control and look for those opportunities.  If we don't score more than 37 points against Clyde we will be in real trouble because they score a lot of points in bunches,” he said.

Published 1/22/25

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Willard Learning the Ropes

          Willard will be down at Clear Fork to take on the Colts in a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          The Flashes were hammered (70-41) by unbeaten Margaretta in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game on Friday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says the pressure got to the young team.  “Credit to Margaretta, I thought they played pretty well.  They shot the ball really well early on.  Jude Keller made four threes for the game, he made three threes in the first half.  You have got to give something up to really good teams.  I thought our kids did and okay job of taking away Washington as much as we could.  I mean you don't really take a player like that away, but we held him to about 12.  The problem is they have seven guys and they're all unselfish and if they're shooting well and sharing the ball well.  Our kids, as much as I hate saying this, but at halftime we thought we were in a good spot only being down nine and then they kind of turn up the pressure.  When they do that, they're very good basketball team and they're going to be a tough team down the road in the tournament for sure,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says last week was a good learning experience for the Flashes.  “It gives you a lot of examples on film where you use as teaching tools and trying to pivot your drills and situations and decision making drills to help those young kids play at a certain speed that you have to play at make decisions a lot faster.  It definitely lets you know what varsity basketball at a championship level is about because that's the championship level team.  They're very good team and they've proven that in a lot of games, so I think we use that as a learning tool going into Clear Fork.  Hopefully playing some of these good teams that we played on our schedule will help here as we start the second half of the season,” he said.

          Willard (3-8) is at Clear Fork (4-8) on Tuesday night.  The Colts were whipped by Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference co-leader River Valley (80-47) last week.

          Bedingfield says Clear Fork has some young talent to go with Garrett Hotz.  “They have a nice sophomore class, a lot of good guards.  They just do a nice job of sharing the ball, but they also have Hotz inside who is kind of inside out.  He has a nice little pivot game inside and does a really good job of rebounding the ball and can step out and shoot it.  I think they play a lot of guys and they could pressure you in full court or half.  I just think they have a solid sophomore class and they have a really, really good player in Hotz, but I think overall they kind of trying to find that identity too.  They have played some really good opponents and have been in some tough games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They've won some good games and they're just kind of like finding their second half too.  So, it should be pretty good game.  We both lost a tough one last time we played.  They played River Valley, we played Margaretta, so there are two really good programs.  Were both coming off of two tough losses, so we'll see who shows up on Tuesday and hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and do a good job of rebounding and playing some defense.”

Published 1/14/25

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Willard Taking it One Game at a Time

          Willard, in second place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will play at Vermilion in a division game on Saturday.

          They trail Margaretta by a game in the standings after having lost (36-30) to the Lady Bears last Saturday.

          They also fell to Lake Division power Bellevue (69-47) on Wednesday.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says she feels these teams have made them better.  “We knew we had a tough stretch, but we're also just trying to take every game one at a time.  I think that's the key is just focus on that one team at a time and not worry about what's ahead or what's behind and that's helped us a little bit.  These last couple teams that we've played they all are very aggressive, they're very physical, they're quick teams, and they've pressed us a lot.  So, I think that has given us opportunities to grow and get better and learn what we need to work on and look at ourselves a little bit more and what we can get better at for the future,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (10-3,3-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Vermilion (5-9,1-2) on Saturday.  The Lady Sailors beat Norwalk St. Paul (50-23) in a non-league game on Wednesday.

          Bedingfield says they will have to handle pressure.  “They're not very big, but they're extremely scrappy.  They press the entire game, they like to double team and they're averaging about 14 steals a game.  That's not just forcing turnovers, that's flat out steals,” she told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “So, we have to take care of the ball, we've have got to be able to handle the press, we've got to find the open girl when they're doubling and it's just going to be a game of hanging on to the ball and making sure we can keep our composure and stay poised and play with confidence.  I think that's what we've been preaching to the girls the whole time, so it's definitely going to take some of those same things that we've been working on when we been playing these really tough teams.”

          Willard, of course, plays Margaretta again on February 6, but Bedingfield says they have to have focus.  “It's definitely something we're thinking about, but again it's one game at a time and just focus on that opponent and what can we do to make ourselves better every day and what can we do to get ready for that specific opponent.  That's our goal for (Friday), for Saturday, is just to get ready for Vermilion, focus on them, and go from there,” she said.

Published 1/10/25

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Willard to Play Outstanding Margaretta

          Willard will host the unbeaten Margaretta Polar Bears in a game Friday in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          On Tuesday night, the Flashes (3-7,2-2) dropped a tough one (62-60) to Ontario in non-conference play.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they gave themselves a chance to win.  “I can't fault the kids effort.  They had a bad start and credit Ontario making a couple threes in the first quarter.  They made three threes in the first quarter and then the kids fought back and cut it to six at half and then had a bad third quarter and went down 43-29, got down 14 and cut it there within four I think going into the fourth.  Then it got interesting late and they hit a few free throws.  We got a good look for a three pointer to win it.  We might have had a lane to tie it up and go into overtime, but we had a kid come open on the wing, Mason Dawson, had a nice look at it.  He’s a kid that deserves a shot like that.  He's put a lot of time into it and we're okay with that.  We have just got to clean up those other quarters and I think we'll be alright, but kids are improving and still working,” said Bedingfield.

          Margaretta (11-0,4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, comes to Willard.  Last weekend Polar Bears beat Huron (54-39) in a division game on Friday and Shelby (70-56) in a non-conference game on Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they have great talent and very good depth.  “Anytime you put five players on the floor who can score it, it kind of puts your defense into disadvantage unless you're really, really long and athletic.  You have to guard all of them.  They share the ball really well.  They have seven good players.  It's not just the top five, they're top seven is kind of what I consider very good players that can share the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They get after you defensively.  I think they come at you in different ways.  They pressure your guards and they do a traditional run and jump a lot of times and they extend the floor to 1-2-2 with Washington up top.  That can cause a lot of problems for a lot of people and it has this year and credit to them.”

          Bedingfield says they can’t have a lot of turnovers if they are going to have a chance.  “Our kids are preparing and we're going to do the best that we can to try to slow them down.  We just have got to value possessions and not turn the ball over as much,” he said.

Published 1/09/25

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Transition Defense an Issue for Willard

          Willard will be home for the first time in about a month as they host the Edison Chargers in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game on Friday night.

          Monday afternoon, Perkins smoked the Flashes (68-32) in an “SBC” crossover game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says Perkis made some perimeter shots and they lost them a lot in transition.  “It was really a really rough start, but credit to Perkins they hit some outside shots.  The (Joey) Diederich kid had three outside threes and usually he hurts you a little bit more with his penetration.  They hit 12 threes in the game.  It’s just another game that we’re going to have to watch and continue to harp on getting better in transition and finding matchups.  I didn't think we did a very good job defensively in our transition and finding shooters,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard has lost its last three games and they are working on their weaknesses.  Bedingfield says they have been tested and they know where they are weak.  “We watched the tape and we talked about it and we've had a pretty good week of practice, so we just kind of continue to move forward and learn from those mistakes.  Perkins, they aren't slouches either, they're pretty good team.  They have some kids that competed in the state championship football.  So, we're seeing some pretty good athletes in our non league and hopefully that helps us out when we play some more of our league game,” he said.

          Willard (2-5,1-2) is at home for Edison (1-4,0-3) on Friday night.  The Chargers lost (41-40) to Huron in a division game last Friday.

          Bedingfield says they have some experienced talent.  “Well, they have a lot of four year players.  It seems like (Zach) Rang and (Luke) Blatnik and some of these kids have played a lot of basketball over the past four years.  They have got a nice player (Coltyn) Meagrow, a junior, he’s shooting about 45% from the three-point line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They've been close in a lot of games.  They don't have as many wins as they probably should or would like, but their team that's kind of on the rise because they've had so much experience.  I think they could play with anybody.  It's going to be a good test to see how we respond after having a couple tough losses.  They do a good job of getting out of transition and sharing the basketball.  So, we have got to do a better job in transition defense, which is something that we're trying to focus on.”

Published 1/03/25

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Willard Must Rebound

          Willard is at Port Clinton on Saturday night for a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          On Saturday night, they had the led going to the fourth quarter, but lost (56-51) to Huron in a division game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they made too many mistakes in the fourth quarter.  “Our kids battled back. At halftime, we were down six or eight.  We had nice third quarter.  Changed up some things defensively and held them to one point.  I like to think a lot of that was our defense, but some of that might have been on them too.  We took a four point lead into the fourth quarter.  Credit to them they switched some things up defensively and we just didn't finish really well.  We turned the ball over a few times that we shouldn't have.  We have to learn how to how to close those out when we have a lead.  We watched some film to correct those mistakes.  I was proud of our kids for putting ourselves in a position to win, but we just have got to be able to close that game out.  Huron was able to get the win.  We just made a few too many mistakes coaching and playing and just didn't do the job in the fourth quarter that we're accustomed to doing to get that win and we have got to be better this week,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says with a young team they have to learn how to close out games.  “I told them after the game. I said guys we all made mistakes playing and coaching in that game that we wish we could have back and we have got to learn from that because we don't have a lot of varsity experience.  That's not an excuse, that's the truth and that's part of the growing pains with having some guys that are young and some guys that don't have enough experience to be in that situation.  We've seen some great players in the past five or six years come through Willard and be able to close those out.  They had confidence and a little bit of fourth quarter swagger to kind of finish those plays.  On court leadership is huge and we've been really harping on that and just getting guys in the right spots, being more vocal and communicating what we practice each and every day.  I think that that's all we can do is just continue to work on that and hopefully that experience will gained over Christmas break here and head us into to the new year to get off on the right foot,” he said.

          Bedingfeld says in order to win this game they mut be able to rebound the basketball.  “They are playing some young guys as well.  They got a couple freshmen that play for them, but they return a little bit more experience in (Aiden) Finn. They do a good job.  They have two bigs inside in Finn and (Zack) Speer that pose a problem for us because we're not as big.  We have got to do a good job on the boards and helping the helper, I think that's the biggest thing.  We are trying to help on dribble penetration.  Sometimes we just worry about our man instead of helping the guy who's getting to the ball and we get lost and sometimes the other team makes the extra pass,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I think Port Clinton has been in every game that they played except for Margaretta, who is really good.  They are a physical team.  They do a good job of rebounding and I think rebounding is going to be the big issue.  It was a big issue against Huron.  We have got to correct that issue and put our guys in position to not let them extend possessions because if we do that we're going to be in trouble.  If we rebound the ball and take care of it, we're going to put ourselves in the best position to close it out for a win.”

Published 12/27/24

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Turnovers, Rebounding Big For Willard

          Willard will be at Carey to face the Blue Devils in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          They got clocked (71-34) by Shelby on Saturday night in non-league play.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield they need to continue to mature by learning from the loss.  “We went into it and told the kids it’s a good test for us.  They were at full strength.  The Holman kid didn’t play against Marion Harding and Galion.  Kessler and Holman both didn’t play against Galion.  They have got a good basketball team and Greg (Gallaway) does a great job and they were able to speed us up quite a bit and really get into our wings.  We tried early on to extend our possessions a little longer.  We just have got to use it as a learning tool.  We watched tape and just try to improve and get some more young guys better and we'll get better.  That's why you play a good non league schedule.  I'd rather have it that way and play a team like Shelby.  That'll help us in our league at times.  We'll learn from it and we got one on Tuesday so we don't have a lot of time to sit and sulk,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says they have had a lot of success in recent years and that was because they respected the process.  “There's got to be a focus on the process.  We talked a lot about that and there's been so much made over the last six years of the outcomes and the outcomes have been great to be a part of, but they have got to understand too there's a process that comes with that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Sometimes that process is a painful one.  These kids put a lot of work into it and they're working hard, they're coachable and I think they're doing a nice job.  I think we'll see some growth and hopefully we'll see it sooner than later.  I think we have got to keep coaching, keep working and we will get better.”

          Willard (1-2) is at Carey (1-3) on Tuesday.  The Blue Devils won their first game Saturday night in beating Wynford (67-61) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.

          Bedingfield says they will be physical and strong in the post.  “Carey has got some big, physical post players inside.  They just won their first game against Wynford. I think they're kind of in a similar situation.  They lost some guys, but they have players back in (Kyler) Boes and (Eli) Steen, who got some time last year on the varsity.  They do a nice job defensively and rebounding. Rebounding will be a big key for us and handling their physicality.  So, we have got to do a good job of cutting off driving gaps because they can get to the basket really well.  I expect them to come out pressure and try to get after us a little bit.  So, we'll see if our kids can handle that a little bit better than we did against Shelby.  If we can value the ball and rebound I think we've got a good chance,” he said.

Published 12/17/24

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Willard Continuing to Build

          Willard faces its first road test of the season on Saturday night in Shelby against the Whippets.

          After a loss (53-40) to Upper Sandusky to start the season, the Flashes destroyed Vermilion (71-49) in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game last Friday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they got a good start and got a lot of kids involved.  “We got off to a good start and I think that that kind of led to a very good first half.  Against Upper Sandusky, who is a very good team.  I think they're going to win some games this year.  We only scored 40 points and then they came out in the first quarter scored 28.  It's kind of like the tale of two different games.  So, it's good to see some improvement.  We know it's not going to be like that every week.  There's going to be some highs and there’s going to be some lows.  We're trending in the right direction because we're able to balance our scoring and get some more kids involved, so that's a good thing,” he said.

          Willard (1-1) is at Shelby (0-1) on Saturday night.  The Whippets lost their opener (78-70) in overtime to Marion Harding on Tuesday night in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play.

          Shelby advanced to the state tournament last year and Bedingfield feels they will be solid again this season.  “They had a historic run and they went all the way down to the state and they had a really good team.  This year they still have a very good team in my opinion with DeVito and Holman, two major components from that team last year and now they just step into a bigger role.  They always have decent athletes and kids that are willing to compete and defend.  I might not know all their names, we're going to watch them (Tuesday) night.  They have three games this week, we're on Saturday.  So, we'll have a better idea towards the end of the week of some of those other kids.  They are always going to compete and work hard and be ready to go on game night.  So, they will get up and down and they'll rebound really well.  We're going to have to be ready for a 32 minute battle, especially on the physicality end and we know that they're physical.”

          Bedingfield says this will be a good matchup with an athletic team.  “We were supposed to play Perkins last Saturday and they have a lot of good athletes, early season playing team like that non conference is good.  Play a Shelby, it's a rivalry game dates back a long time ago, it's not as much anymore because we're not in the same league.  They still have a great program and quality athletes, quality coaches.  So, I think that to see where our young guys are is good.  Then to go on the road.  We’ve played two games at home and to go on a road at Shelby to see where we're at.  If we can compete with a good program for 32 minutes and come out and try to win.  Do the right things to win on the road.  Kind of get a barometer for where you're at really and see if they can bounce back and try to get two in a row this week,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/11/24

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Willard Wants to Get Better

          Willard hosts Vermilion in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          They lost their opener (53-40) to Upper Sandusky last Wednesday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they have had productive practices since then.  “I think they're acting fine.  I think practice is important, but I think showing them some things that we didn't do well last week is the opportunity to learn.  I think we're moving working on transition defense.  We were disappointed in how we defended the circle in transition.  We didn't get back and get our matchups.  So, I think some of that has to do with their inexperience.  Just the first time out and speed of the game.  We had some young guys that coming from junior high to playing varsity basketball.  It's a different speed, different pace.  I'm encouraged by what I see at practice every day.  They're a good group of kids to be around.  So, I think they're trying to translate what we show them on film and the mistakes we made last week and try not to have the same mistakes happen again,” said Bedingfield.

          Vermilion (1-1) lost (60-40) to Norwalk St. Paul in a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says this is a team that’s pretty good in transition.  “They're a little bit younger team with some very good sophomores.  They have good depth.  We saw them play Western Reserve and they shot it really well and then we watched them play against St. Paul and the shots didn't really fall that well.  They get the ball down the floor really well in transition.  Cooper and Hooks and Meyers are very good offensively in transition and they do a nice job of sharing the ball, basically spacing you out.  There are opportunities for them to get driving lines if we're too tight and we're not backside and still rotated to the box because they'll blow right by you know.  I just think that share the ball.  They seem to be getting better.  I know they had a tough game with St. Paul, but for the most part they're young team trying to find identity just very similar to us and I think it should be a good game,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard has a lot of years on their championship banners, including last year, and Bedingfield knows teams always give them their best.  “It just means there has been a standard here for a long time.  Long before I was the coach, long before coach Hirschy was here.  It's always important to the community to put a good product on the floor and we try to uphold those standards.  I think we have the right kids in the in the gym everyday working hard to do that.  We know that we've had a lot of success in recent years too and we know that everybody's going to give us their best shot and rightfully so,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We’ve got to meet that challenge every day.  I think the kids are trying to get better.  The problem is they just need more game reps.  We're going to have some lulls in the season where things probably don't go our way, but we just can't make the same mistake twice.  Eventually we told them last week we're disappointed that we lost, but there's some positives there.  Never accept that losing is okay and because in this program it's not okay.  We have got to continue to get better.  They're doing all the right things and that's all we can ask right now.”

Published 12/06/24

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Willard Must Keep Their Heads

          Willard travels to Huron on Thursday night for a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          On Monday night, the Lady Flashes belted Crestview (62-33) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they shared the ball well and they ran the floor.  “The girls played really well together.  We were looking to get out and transition and that's what they did.  They really looked for each other well.  They passed the ball well.  We did some things defensively that we've been trying to work on.  So, I was really pleased with the win.  They shared the ball well and just had a good team win,” said Bedingfield,

          Reece Bedingfield had 20 and Leah Weiss added 19 in the win.

          Huron (0-2) lost (56-41) to Perkins in a crossover game in the “SBC” on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says they have a balanced team with a lot of skill.  “They are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with.  I think they lost some players last year, but they are replacing them.  They've got some big freshmen that are getting some solid minutes for them.  That will be tough for us to guard.  They've got the Brown sisters, one of which didn't play last year because of a knee injury, so they add her to the roster,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They've got some good weapons that can really score, they can drive, they can shoot outside, so they're really pretty versatile.  So, we're going to have to do some things defensively to throw them off their game a little bit.  Just going to have to play really intensely on defense and keep our composure because they are a strong defensive team as well.  They like to get after you defensively and we need to be able to keep our composure.”

          Willard (3-0) looks to have the talent to compete in the Bay Division and Bedingfield again emphasizes composure.  “Everybody wants to win in the league and in the first game is significant.  You're always looking for that first win in the league, so of course it's important.  We actually split with them last year.  They beat us there and we beat them at our place.  So, we start off there this year and it'll definitely be a good game.  It's going to come down to each possession counting and each possession being really important and so again just keeping our composure will be huge,” she said.

Published 12/05/24

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Willard has to Keep Battling

          Willard hosts Upper Sandusky in the lid lifter to the boys’ basketball season on Wednesday night at Haas Gym.

          The Flashes will be young and inexperienced this year and coach Joe Bedingfield says Wednesday will kind of be like opening a box of chocolates.  “I think every coach feels the same way this time of year you know.  It's difficult when you start putting people in the stands and games and just trying to see who's applying what you're teaching throughout the week when it really matters.  I think the big part is we have a lot of kids that are eager to play their first varsity game.  So, I think it'll be an exciting night.  Our kids are working hard and hopefully a lot of stuff that we have taught them they will be able to showcase at game time,” he said.

          Bedingfield says their plays must focus on what they have been taught.  “I think that's natural you should feel a little bit a little anxious to get going, but hopefully they don't feel too nervous or the lights aren’t too bright or however you want to put it.  Hopefully, you go out and you withstand the first quarter or half, especially when you're playing a more experienced team and they kind of get back to doing the things that we teach.  We talk to them about that all the time just do the things we teach and you’ll be fine and they kind of settle down and find the rhythm.  I think that's a big part of high school sports anyway it's just catching that second win and finding your rhythm and that’s always early first five games and after that it kind of becomes second nature,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says Upper will be a tough matchup for his young team because of the way they play defense.  “They bring quite a bit back from last year's team.  They’re in a competitive league.  They have very physical kids that really get after you defensively.  Coach (Jeff) Winslow does a good job getting them playing hard no matter who he has out.  They just come at you and they try to create a lot of their offense off their defense.  We have got to do a good job taking care of the basketball.  We have got to do good job rebounding because I think they're a very physical team that rebounds the ball very well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The value of the possessions is really going to be important and critical in the game.  Their tempo, we can’t allow it to speed this up and take quick shots and take bad shots or turn us over.  That'll give us some trouble, especially early.  We've got to be able to kind of play our game and withstand some of their runs because they’re a good team we're going to make runs.  With the young team that we're putting on the floor it's just going to be something to learn to withstand some runs and keep battling.  We're going to make mistakes, I know that, we just have got to fight through those mistakes, especially early on and understand it’s a four quarter game.”

Published 11/27/24

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Willard Begins With Tough One Against Upper

          Willard plays its first girls basketball game of the season on Tuesday night as they host the Upper Sandusky Lady Rams for a non-conference game.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they are ready to see what kind of team they can be.  “It was a short preseason for us due to the success of our volleyball team, but I think they are ready.  They're excited, they're pumped up, they're ready for an opportunity to just ready to get out there and get going,” she said.

          Bedingfield says you really don’t know what you have got until you play one for real.  “There's a different feel to them.  Scrimmages you're still trying to figure out the best combinations and we're still doing that.  We have six returning letter winners and so even finding a starting five is not the easiest thing because really you look at them and go man all of you could start,” she told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “That's a good problem to have, but we're still figuring it out.  We're still getting our basketball legs back.  So, it'll be a good test for us (Tuesday).  Upper is a really good team and they have almost everybody back from last year.  So, it's a good one to start out on and to see what we're made of a little bit.”

          Upper (1-0) has one in the books.  They beat Ontario (48-40) in a non-conference game last Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they have an outstanding player in Grace Walton.  “They have got some shooters.  They love the three point shot.  Grace Walton was district 6 player of the year last year.  So, we have our work cut out for us for sure.  She loves to shoot the three and she just never quits moving.  She's really hard to guard just because she's constantly moving both offensively and defensively.  They definitely present some issues for us, so we're excited to for an opportunity there,” said Bedingfield.

Published 11/26/24

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Willard Figuring Things Out

          Willard, one of the traditional powers in boys’ basketball, will have a team his year that features a lot of youth.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they are eager to learn the game at the varsity level.  “We have got a good group of kids.  They're working very hard, very coachable and they're doing a nice job of trying to pick some things up.  We don't have a lot of returning letterman.  We have a lot of youth and just trying to get them kind of accustomed of some things at the varsity level they're going to see.  They'll find out on game night how much faster and how much bigger and quicker things can move.  It's been a process, but that's what we try to teach them is just focus on getting better each and every day and the kids are doing nice job of that so far,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says a key this month it to teach his kids how to anticipate the flow of the game.  “You have got to anticipate I think too.  We are trying to teach kids how to anticipate what could happen and not thinking too much.  I think it's better to anticipate than think and react.  Sometimes you're kind of too slow if you react the more experience you gain I think the easier game becomes and that's why people say it slows down for you.  So, we're just trying to get our legs under us, get us in shape and also just learn what's going to make us successful this season,” he said.

          Willard will scrimmage Madison on Tuesday and Fostoria on Friday and Bedingfield says these scrimmages, especially this year, are important to the Flashes.  “We've already had one.  We usually don't have as many scrimmages as we have this year, but we used all of them because we need that experience.  We need to go against someone else that has a varsity body.  Sometimes your younger guys, as much as they're trying, they just can't provide you exactly what you need and what you're going to see,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We've tried to use all our scrimmages and try to gain that experience for our kids.  We have tape to show them.  Some of the mistakes and some of the good and some of the bad.  It's just a process, everyone's in the same boat right now, not really sure until the lights come on and people come in the stands, what you really have.”

Published 11/12/24

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Willard to Play Improved Vermilion

          Willard heads for Vermilion on Friday night to play the Sailors in a non-conference game.

          The Flashes are off to a (2-0) start after a (24-21) win over Plymouth last week.

          Coach Bill Speller says they had to have some depth.  “We had to have a lot of different guys step up for us.  It was a hot night and we had some guys go down with some heat things and so it was kind of next man up type thing and some guys that didn't quite have as much experience had to get some experience real quick.  Give credit to those guys they really stepped up and we got the job done.  In past years we might have folded, but this is a really tough group.  They're really hardnosed kids and they have a real junkyard dog type mentality and they want to go out and fight,” he said.

          Speller says last week especially their defense was the called on to make big plays and they did.  “I think our mentality is better.  I think we really improved from the scrimmages to week one and I think we improved this past week, especially defensively.  I think we're playing a lot better defensively, especially than in years past.  We have got a lot of tackles for loss the last two weeks.  Our defense has had to be the ones that to really win the game for us,” he told Swanknsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We had to pin them down with a good punt late in the fourth quarter.  Their offense isn't conducive to going down the field quickly.  So, once we pin them and our defense was able to still play them real tough and then take away their number one plays.  They just did a great job.  Our kids are playing really good team defense right now.”

          Vermilion (2-0) blasted Oberlin Firelands (42-23) on week two.

          Speller says this is not your father’s Vermilion.  “They have got lot of guys back from last year.  Pretty much returning everybody both sides of the football.  They got a taste of the playoffs last year and coach (Bill) DiFucci has got them running pretty good up there.  This is a really nice senior class for them.  I think they're going to be an exciting one to watch in the Bay.  I don't think it's going to be that Vermillion that that you've seen past the few years.  They're strong kids, they're athletic, and they're hardnosed.  They're not they're not folding over for anybody.  They're going to come and play and they're going to fight hard,” said Speller.

Published 9/03/24

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Reed No Hits Port Clinton

          Willard’s Elijah Reed fired a no-hitter at Port Clinton on Thursday night in the Flashes (10-0) win in play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          It keeps Willard a game behind Huron and Edison in the race entering the final week of the regular season.

          Coach Billy Robinson says Reed was tremendous.  “Our junior Eliza Reed pitched a no hitter (Thursday) night for us throwing a lot of strikes.  I think he had 12 strikeouts, so did a really good job being around the plate.  Very proud of him for (Thursday’s) game,” said Robinson.

          Robinson says he wants the pitchers to concentrate on throwing strikes.  “I have a cousin Don Gullett, you might recognize his name, he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds.  He actually just passed away, but I asked him, I said Don what makes a good pitcher? He says command, throwing strikes, that's the most important thing,” he told Swankonsport.com on Thursday night, “That’s the piece of advice he gave me and that's what you know we're trying to focus with our pitchers.  Throwing strikes, getting ahead in the count and good things happen.”

          Willard (10-6,4-3) trails Huron and Edison by game in the Bay Division.  They play Edison next Tuesday and Saturday and they travel to Margaretta next Thursday.

          The Flashes are greatly improved from the last several years and Robinson says they knew they had the talent.  “We always knew that this day would come.  We have six seniors that have played a lot of baseball together at high levels and have played a lot of travel ball.  So, we always knew the experience would come through and it's showing this year,” he said.

Published 5/03/24

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Fogle’s Shot Give Lexington Win Over Willard

          Lexington’s Brayden Fogle is not a great perimeter shooter, not even a mediocre one to be honest, but he was when he had to be Thursday night.

          His 15-foot jumper with :02 left lifted the Minutemen to a (59-57) overtime win over Willard in a division II district semifinal at Ontario High School.

          They will be back Saturday night to face Shelby, who beat Mansfield Senior (60-55) in the opener Thursday.

          Fogle had made only one three pointer all season, but he found all net from the deep right corner with :37 left in regulation to tie at (53-53) and the Flashes failed to convert when Cam Robinson could not score on the final shot in regulation.

          Fogle says he had been working on his outside shot.  “I’m been working to improve it and eventually everything you put in, you get out and I got the reward for all of that work,” he said.

          The sophomore, who was scoreless in the first half, scored Lexington’s last 11 points and finished with 18, fellow sophomore Seven Allen led the Minutemen with 19.

          Lexington coach Scott Hamilton says they drew up a play for the game winner, it didn’t go exactly as planned, but was happy with the result.  “We started the game, I'll say the first half, and Fogle is 0-5, Elijah (Hudson) is like 1-6, we just couldn't find the bottom of the net.  So, luckily for us we got that extra period.  We were able to tie it up and get that extra period.  Even at the end when we had that time out, they had showed a little bit of zone.  We had a zone play drawn up to run, but we knew that if they went man, we just had to get a ball screen try to finish at the rim.  We wanted to hold the ball until 20, but with Max (Dawson) putting pressure on the ball up top, we were a little sketchy because I know Max can, I saw Perkins film right, so we had to go a little bit quicker.  Then we never did get the ball screen for Fogle, but he put the ball on the floor and got to about 12 feet and hit that jumper,” said Hamilton.

          Willard ran two outstanding out of bounds plays, one in which a foul could have been called on Lexington, and wasn’t, and the other resulted in Cam Robinson getting a clean look, but the shot didn’t fall.

          Hamilton says they survived and that is all that matters.  “Cam Robinson gets a good look at the end.  I told the guys I do not want to hear a whistle, but I didn't want to give him that much room.  Elijah did a decent job on the ball, but he went back thew it and Cam was right there got a good look.  They did so many things well it's just a bad thing that that somebody's got to lose, but at this point in the season it's all about survive and move on,” he said.

          Willard (19-5), the co-winner of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, played an outstanding first half and led (26-20) at the half.  They led by eight (40-32) after a Cam Robinson free throw with 7:42 to play.

          They were able to stay in the game due mostly to the exploits of senior guard Max Dawson, who finished with 26 points on the night.

          Lexington (22-2), winner of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, took their first lead of the night (48-46) on Allen’s driving layup with 1:55 to play and extended that lead to three on Fogle’s lay in (50-47) with 1:20 left.

          However, Dawson drained a three from the right wing and was fouled.  He added a free throw to give the Flashes a (51-50) lead with 1:05 remaining.  His two free throws with :56 on the clock made it (53-50), but Fogle tied it with his three.

          Hamilton says he has great respect for Willard, and especially Dawson.  “They just did so many things well, I mean they really did.  I can't have any more respect for a player than what I've got for Max Dawson.  I've been fortunate to know him since he was about in fifth grade.  He played on a travel team, coached by someone I know, and had a couple of my friends as kids on it.  Again, just have the utmost respect for him.  He does a very nice job when you put pressure on him, he finds his teammates, his open guys and he gives them confidence and they knock down big shots,” said Hamilton.

          Dawson was 9-17 from the field and 4-8 on threes.  He was 4-4 at the line.

          Willard coach Joe Bedingfield says Dawson really doesn’t get as many free throws as you would think.  “We were trying to do some things, use him as a screener at the end.  We got some good looks.  I thought some things could have gone the other way at times.  Max has to work really hard for what he gets too.  I see a lot of great players get a lot more calls and it doesn't seem like he’s getting the same respect.  He's earned his respect because he works so hard,” he said.

          Dawson was 86-114 from the line on the year.  That’s 75% and an average of just five attempts per game, which would seem low.

‘        Bedingfield says the Minutemen made the plays when they counted most.  He says this year’s senior class at Willard has definitely left its mark.  “Fogle and to hit an outside shot, credit to him, he stepped up for his team and he hit a three when he needed and then he hit a 15 foot pull up, which he can hit from time to time.  Our kids battled once again.  It’s disappointing, our senior class has meant a lot to us.  They're great kids, they've led by example, won three league championships in four years and lost in district final after a great senior class before them and they kind of picked it up from there.  I just told them I love them because there's not much else to say.  I love being their coach.  It’s heart breaking because we don't get to spend a lot of time together anymore because practice is done,” said Bedingfield.

          Lexington made 34% of it field goals in the first half and 57% in the second half.

          Hamilton says they worked to get better shots.  “We really talked about that a little bit.  I thought we forced a couple in the first half.  Maybe they're shots that we can make, and we have made in the past, but it was definitely something that I thought we took a couple of somewhat contested shots and we had a guy wide open on the backside,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I thought early on we were little geeked up if you will and we were gambling and every time we gambled they attacked right away and it was five on four and we're giving up a layup or we're giving up you know a wide open corner jumper.  Give credit to their, I'll call them role players with all kinds of respect, but give credit to those guys when they had the open look they were knocking it down.  Beaner comes out and hit a couple of shots.  Robinson was active.  So, I mean give credit to those guys too helping to keep them in the game.”

          Robinson finished with 13, Beamer, a junior, had 12.

          Lexington is a much bigger team, but Willard held its own on the glass.  The Minutemen were credited with 31 boards, Willard 27.

          Hamilton says they rebounded better in the second half, but it really came down to getting those better shots.  “In the second half I thought we got a little bit better at it.  They outrebounded us and they outrebounded us in the first half as well and that's what I told the guys there weren't many offensive rebounds, but we weren't getting any and our points in our points per shot was way down, it was like .87, we normally shoot for the 1.0.  So, we knew we had to get better looks and with that it's got to be little bit closer to the rim.  We used Joe (Caudill) a little bit better, told Fogle to get inside, even though he did hit that three in the corner, but we got Fogle inside a little bit.  We just never really did get Elijah going real well.  (Gavin) Husty came in and hit a couple of shots for us.  I thought we got good defense from the bench, really good support once again.  So, like I said survive and move on, that's what mode we're in right now,” said Hamilton.

Published 3/08/24

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Willard Has to be Fundamental

          Willard takes on Lexington at Ontario High School on Thursday night in a division II district semifinal.

          Last season, the Minutemen beat Willard (58-56) in a sectional final.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says Lexington has many of the same actors, but they have some new faces as well.  “They have some of the similar players obviously with Fogle, Hudson, Caudill, but they added Seven Allen to the point guard spot and he's done a nice job.  They're athletic and still young, but they just do a good job of pushing pace and offensive rebounding.  They present a lot of athletic challenges for a lot of teams.  I do think they're a little different, their style is a little different, but they've had a nice season so far.  We're excited to be in the district semifinals on Thursday and at this point in the season you're going to play very good teams in division II,” he said.

          Lexington, the Ohio Cardinal Conference winner, (20-2), does a lot things very well and one of them is rebounding.  Bedingfield says they have to compete on the glass.  “There's a lot of possessions, even looking at the Ottawa-Glandorf game, where they've had two or three extended possessions and that's what worries us the most is how to negate size and strength because they do have some kids that are strong or athletic, they're long, and we have to be in better position.  We have to be seekers and not avoiders, we’ve talked a lot about that.  You have got to be physical at this level and at this stage of the game.  One of the things that we have to do is we have got to take good shots on the other end because people think about the offensive rebounding, but the defensive rebounding too leads to outlets for the other team if you take bad shots.  So, we have got to do a good job of taking good shots and then also eliminating their offensive rebounding because they are going to get some,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (19-4) is co-champion of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division and is paced by senior goad Max Dawson (26 PPG) and Bedingfield says they have to work to get good shots.  “I think the more the ball sticks, the better they get and I think the ball movement is key.  I think playing on a bigger floor sometimes can space that length out. We know that they're going to try and take away two of our guys that are our leading scorers, but we also need to make sure that we move the ball and move offensively and fight for spacing,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I think a real key is just getting a lot of court reversals and trying to get them to move and finally opening driving lanes and paint touches.  I think we can get ourselves some good opportunities if we can get the ball to move without turning it over because they are very good in passing lanes as well.”

Published 3/07/24

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Defensive Transition, Rebounding Keys for Willard

          Willard, the co-champion of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will be at home for Sandusky Perkins, of the Lake Division, in a sectional final in division II on Friday night.

          Willard (18-4), #5 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll, beat Perkins (65-58) on December 8 at Willard.

          However, coach Joe Bedingfield says that hardly matters now.  “I mean anytime you play somebody at the beginning of the year obviously your team is going to be totally different months down the road after how many practices.  They were coming off of a successful football season, so it's a different team and they're playing really good basketball, so it'll be a challenge,” he said.

          Perkins (16-7) downed Tiffin Columbian (54-40) in a semifinal on Tuesday at their place.

          Bedingfield says they are just a very athletic team that runs the floor well and rebounds it very well.  “They are so athletic.  They have athletes at every position, they have physicality.  They're a good football school and their kids are strong.  They run the floor super well, really, really well.  They get the ball out, they don't mess around.  They rebound the ball at both ends, which presents a lot of problems because you don't get a lot of second chance opportunities and then also you can't really crash as many guys as you'd like to on the offensive end because you got to get back defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We have to do a better job in defensive transition than we did last week.  Then we also have to do a good job of rebounding at the defensive end and limiting their second chance opportunities with their athletes that can rebound the ball so well.”

          Willard lost to Shelby (89-67) last week.

          Bedingfield says they have to take good shots within their offense.  “We have some basketball players that are skilled and they do too.  I don't want to take away from their basketball skills.  They have a really nice junior class with (Joey) Diederich, (Mikey) Young and (Weston) Sturzinger.  What we need to do is basically be more conscientious of our possessions and understand that every single possession is going to matter.  Not take quick shots, but take good shots and within our offense.  Not get sped up by their athleticism, which they've been doing a really nice job of in their last nine or 10 games of speeding other teams up and getting them to control the pace of the game.  We definitely want to make sure that we have control of the pace.  We can play a little bit fast, but we want to be under control,” said Bedingfield.

Published 3/01/24

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Willard Has to Do Little Things

          Willard plays Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division rival Edison at Haas Count in Willard in a division III sectional semifinal on Thursday night.

          The winner will travel to Upper Sandusky to play for a sectional championship on Saturday night.

          The Lady Flashes (11-11) have won six of their last eight, their only losses coming to Margaretta and Shelby during that time.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they have shown a lot of improvement down the stretch.  “We’ve played some tough competition the second half of the season and I definitely think that has made us better.  We've improved in a lot of areas that we were focusing on.  Doing the little things is one of our big focuses and just consistency in doing those little things will help us get better along the way,” she said.

          Willard has beaten Edison (8-14) twice during the regular season, winning (48-33) December 21 and (53-46) on February 3.

          Bedingfield says they need to keep the Lady Chargers off the offensive boards.  “There's not a lot of secrets.  We know what they're going to do.  They play really hard all the time.  They do a great job of getting to the boards.  They love to drive, which has been hard for us to defend in the past.  Just knowing what they're going to do.  They know what we're going to do.  So, I think really the game is going to come down to making sure that we're doing exactly what we need to do,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We're doing all those little things.  We talked about boxing out.  Just boxing out is such a key role in our game (Thursday) because they crash so hard.  They have got Jorja Byington, who leads the “SBC” Bay Division in offensive rebounds.  So, that's going to be really key for us.  They're playing a lot better in the second half of the season as well.  So, we just need to come out and follow our game plan and make sure that we're doing all the little things to keep the ball in our hands and out of their hands as much as possible.”

          Bedingfield says they have to show patience in their first tournament game of the season.  “I think one of the things that we have struggled with in the past is taking our time on possessions and making sure that we're taking care of the ball.  We've talked a lot about that the past week.  It's been a week since we played and we've talked a lot about that in the last week and just making sure that we are slowing it down in the press.  If they're pressing us, we're slowing it down and making the right decision.  We're running our press breaker.  We're hitting the right people where we want them to be and that is going to slow the game down.  That is what you need to do to win at this stage of the game I think is make every possession count,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/22/24

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Willard Plays for Title

          Willard will win no less than a share of the Bay Division title in the Sandusky Bay Conference if they beat Vermilion in their final division game on Tuesday night.

          Right now, they share the lead with Margaretta.  The Polar Bears play Edison on Friday night.

          They moved in a share of the lead by overwhelming Margaretta (77-39) last Friday.  Max Dawson poured in 25 points and junior Jackson Beamer added 17 as the Flashes made 16-23 three point attempts on the night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says their effort and execution was really good and they were playing with confidence.  “I was happy for my kids.  I thought they really stepped up.  I credit our senior leaders.  It's kind of refocused and we kind of stepped up in the second half of the year and just take it game by game and was really ready to play.  It's always easy when shots are going in and we just kept on building momentum and that's a credit to them and the time that they put into it.  It’s the right time for you to play with confidence,” he said.

          Margaretta had beaten Willard (58-48) at Willard on January 4.

          Bedingfield says they played well all night on both ends of the floor.  “I think you can kind of feel the momentum build on both ends of the floor.  I thought underrated thing that we were able to do was holding the one shot… a lot and I think that kind of gets us out in transition a little bit easier and we were able just to build from there.  Definitely when you can hit shots it gives you a little bit more excitement and pep in your step on the defensive end. Our kids did a good job to hold team that averaged 65 points to under 40 at their place,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (17-3,8-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, entertains Vermilion (6-15,4-5) on Tuesday night.  The Sailors are coming off perhaps their best performance of the season in beating Huron (70-43) in a division game last Friday.

          The Flashes handled Vermilion (81-52) on January 12.

          Bedingfield says the Sailors have shown a lot of improvement since then and they have to be focused.  “Definitely coach (Kurt) Habermehl has made his team a lot better throughout the year and they're doing a lot of good things at both ends of the floor as well.  To beat Huron by 25 or 30 points is a credit to him and his program.  I think Huron’s had some injuries and they've battled through some things as well.  Vermilion has had a lot more kids step up here and get better and that's credit to Kurt and his program,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It's not going to be an easy game.  Even at their place during the year it was only like an eight or nine point game at halftime.  So, we've been trying to refocus and move on from Friday night and get ready for this week because it's a big week.”

Published 2/20/24

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Must Win for Willard

          Willard goes to Margaretta on Friday night in search of a win that would move them into a tie with the Polar Bears for the lead in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          A win by Margaretta will give the Bears an outright title.

          The Flashes have won seven of their last eight and coach Joe Bedingfield says they have found their groove.  “I think the kids are playing pretty well.  We know this time of year we're going to play some better opponents looking at our schedule.  Everyone's excited about the game this week and the games to come.  I think we've learned a little bit from our previous losses and we're going to get a chance to see if we have or not on Friday,” he said.

          Willard (16-3,7-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division is at Margaretta (16-2,8-0), #1 in our small school poll, on Friday night.

          Julian Washington (20.2 PPG) and Judah Keller (13.7 ppg) are the Bears leading scorers, but Bedingfield says Margaretta has gotten solid contributions from their other players.  “I think they've really improved since last year.  I think some of the younger kids like Tate Bailey and Tyson (Bailey) and those kids are juniors and one freshman.  The two Bailey boys really hurt us last game.  I also think Washington and Keller are very unselfish.  They have the talent to be really, really good offensively and they are, but even Judah’s doing a good job of distributing the ball.  I just think that you know they're finding a lot of balance.  I think they're very aggressive defensively and I think they get a lot of stuff out of their defense to get their offense going.  I think they're playing well as a team.  They present a lot of matchup problems for a lot of teams and I'm expecting a good ball game on Friday,” said Bedingfield.

          Margaretta won the first game (58-48) on January 4.

          Bedingfield says there are things they need to do better on both ends of the floor.  “There's a lot of variables that went in the first game.  We have to improve defensively.  We did a lot of good things in that loss, it sounds kind of funny, but I think we had less than 10 turnovers, we had 20 offensive rebounds, we did a lot of lot of things well.  Ultimately it comes down to making some shots and I think we shot around 30 percent,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I credit Margaretta’s defense for that, but also I think we're a little bit better shooting and I think we got to have a better ball movement and spacing.  I think spacing is really key when you play a team like Margaretta and ball movement.  Then also you have got to get stops.  They're a very aggressive team. They're not overly big, but they're very physical, they play extremely hard.  Rebounding is always key this time of year.  Generally in these games they let you play and we got to be ready to meet that challenge on both ends of the floor mentally and physically.”

Published 2/15/2024

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Willard Needs a Good Start

          Willard plays at Edison in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          They trail Margaretta by a game and play the Polar Bears next week.

          Willard plays at Lucas in a non-conference game this Saturday.

          On Monday night, they kept pace in the Bay Division with a (61-49) win over Huron.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says tempo was a factor Monday night.  “I was really happy with the win.  It was very similar to some of the games we've had before where we're challenged really heavily in the first half, and credit Huron for that.  They got some nice parts there with McNulty and some of their guards.  I thought they shot it really well, they hit 10 or 11 threes.  I thought our balance was pretty good.  I thought we were able to speed them up and take advantage of how many games that they played in short amount of time.  We really got them kind of going a little bit too fast and we're able to build a little bit of a lead and take care of business which we need to do in our league race,” he said.

          Willard (14-3,6-1) is at Edison (4-14,1-6) on Friday night for a division game.  Edison lost (52-36) to Huron last Friday, they did beat South Central (70-50) in a non-conference game on Saturday.

          Willard won the first game (59-43) on December 29.

          Bedingfield says Edison has some guys that can play.  “I feel like Edison's very capable team.  They have a lot of guys and some varsity experience now.  Even with their younger guys have played quite a bit quite minute wise.  I think Bourget has played three years of our varsity, they have Meagrow, a sophomore, is playing really well for them.  They Blatnik, who has played two or three years of varsity.  They've been in a lot of games and they're really close.  They haven't closed out a lot of games, but they played well against South Central and were able to beat them at home,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's always a challenge when you go to someone else's place.  Getting off to a good start is going to be key for us and we haven't been doing a great job of that.  We really want to play four quarters of basketball, but I think kind of focusing in on just our starts.  I think sometimes we've been in some games where we started kind of slow or sluggish or we expected that the other team wasn't going to come out ready to play and we were the ones that didn't come out ready to play.  We have got to do a better job this weekend because we have got two opponents who can really score the basketball.  We're really harping on the defensive end and being able to guard the drive.”

          The Flashes play at Mid-Buckeye Conference co-leader Lucas (13-3) on Saturday night.

          Bedingfield feels that’s good prep for the tournament.  “We have played them for the past three years or so and they're always very physical, well coached and they get up in you.  We try to prepare our kids a little bit for that, but I think it's always a challenge like I say when you go on the road and you have two games.  It’s good for us as we get ready for the tournament because they are a very physical team, like a division II type of physicality.  They might not have what they've had in the past, but their kids are winners and they're having a good season once again.  I know it's going to be a challenge for us to try to guard some of their players.  They have more than just Logan Toms.  I think Toms gets a lot of credit, and he's a good player, but they have some nice pieces around, Culler and Winters.  It seems like they're producing and developing good team chemistry and we're going to have to be very balanced ourselves and be ready for the physical challenge especially, on the rebounding end,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/09/24

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Willard Expects Contest from Port Clinton

          Willard, a game back in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will host Port Clinton in a conference game on Friday night.

          The Flashes (12-3,4-1), a game behind Margaretta, whipped Port Clinton (75-49) on December 23.

          However, coach Joe Bedingfield says the Redskins will have a full roster for this one.  “Well, the first time we played them they also didn't have their leading scorer. Jackson Beasley is one of the best scoring guards in the league and he is healthy now, which is a good thing, you hate seeing seniors get hurt and not be able to play.  You have got good size on the Port Clinton team.  They do a good job of rebounding and making it tough on you when you are driving lanes.  It was a good game for three quarters.  We had a big fourth quarter that really kind of broke open the game.  So, we expect them to come in ready to play and we know that they're going to be ready for us.  The last two games they've played really well against Bowsher and Oberlin, so they're playing with a lot of confidence right now and our guys have got to be ready to go,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard lost their last game (53-48) to Bellevue on Saturday night.  Bedingfield hopes they learned from that loss.  “We've had some good years and our kids expect to win.  We had a lead against Bellevue and we just didn't do enough of the right things and credit them for hitting some shots and making a run.  It was a learning experience obviously for all of us.  That's one thing that we told the kids after the game is we'll learn from it, we'll watch tape and we'll take that into the tournament.  Hopefully, we don't have that happen in the tournament.  It's better to lose those non conference, regular season games, even though it means a little bit more with the tradition and rivalry and things of that nature, but it's a learning experience.  It's better to learn now than in March because you don't get an opportunity to play again if you play like that second half,” he said.

          It appears the division II district is loaded with good teams again this year.  Willard has the third seed right now and Bedingfield predicts from the first game on it’s going to be a war.  “I think a lot of the coaches in our district feel the same way.  Lexington, obviously, is really good, Shelby's, obviously really good, Bellevue, obviously is really good, Mansfield Senior, I think there's a long list of teams that have very good teams this year and have a team that could win a district title, but the problem is we all have to play each other,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I think whoever does win the district title this year is definitely going to be earning it because even your first game of the tournament it's going to be a tough match, but we know that.  Even if we do continue to win and if we are lucky enough to get a three seed and what have you.  It's a good thing to have, but also I expect a battle from the first tournament game till hopefully the district championship game.  We have just got to continue to win the day and just kind of worry about the next game, obviously it's an old cliché, but it's so true, especially this year.”

Published 2/02/24

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Bellevue Rallies Past Willard

          Bellevue outscored Willard (31-10) over the game’s last 12 minutes and they beat the Flashes (53-48) at Bob Haas court at Willard High School in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Joel Ray bagged a three pointer to cut the Bellevue deficit to 13 (38-25) with 3:42 left in the third quarter and that sparked a (15-2) run to the end of the quarter.  The Flashes led (40-37) to start the final stanza.

          Bellevue coach Ed Rich says the press got them started and then they started to make some shots.  “That’s kind of our go to, that 1-2-2 pressure, that turned the tide, but what really helps is we made some shots there.  I mean we got some good looks and I've talked to you so much about, good looks, good looks, good looks and we just can't score it.  The second half, we got some good looks they went in and that pressure really got to them, so huge both sides of the ball there,” said Rich.

          Role player Carson McKenzie converted two free throws to give Bellevue its first lead of the game (41-40) with 7:21 left.  A Max Dawson field goal on the next possession gave Willard what turned out to be their last lead (42-41) with 7:03 remaining.  Bellevue’s Ike Brown splashed two straight threes to make it (47-42) with 6:10 left and the Redmen never trailed again.

          Willard coach Joe Bedingfield says the press took them out of their rhythm in the second half.  “I think it slowed us down got us off rhythm a little bit.  We knew it was coming, just didn’t do a very good job with like cutting through the lane and moving the basketball at times.  It kind of made Max give up the ball a little bit here and there,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I just think we played a little bit more in the second half on our heels than our toes.  I thought we did a good job in the first half doing that and Bellevue had a better second half than we had a first half.”

          Willard dominated play in the first half, led by Cam Robinson’s nine points and they lead (26-13) at the intermission.

          However, starting midway through the third quarter, the Redmen started making jumpers.  “Every coach in America tells their players that once one guy goes it makes everyone feels like they can make it and we did.  I have got to do a special mention to Carson McKenzie, #30, he doesn't get a whole lot of minutes for us, senior, plays his butt off, he came in had a huge second half.  I mean he was a huge spark plug for us,” said Rich.

          McKenzie finished with six points, all in big moments.  He had scored only 12 points all season prior to Saturday.  Jackson Martin led Bellevue with 14 points, Ray added 10.

          Willard made only two field goals, both by Max Dawson, in the fourth quarter, but they were down only (50-48) with less than a minute to play.

          Bedingfield says they were not aggressive enough.  “We try to get the ball inside and it seemed like we just settled a couple times for jump shots instead of getting it inside, no matter how many times you try to do it.  I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half keeping them off the boards and then the second half, we didn't get a few rebounds here and there.  We stopped crashing, seems like we got very complacent and that's not us.  I have to do a better job getting us to play four quarters,” said Bedingfield.

          Dawson is the leading scorer in the Sandusky Bay Conference (26.2 ppg), but Rich felt they forced the Ashland University signee to take some tough shots.  “He had, I think, seven in the first half, one wide open three and two contested jumpers.  I mean that's what we want him to shoot.  We did a good job on him, we can defend.  (Cam) Robinson killed us early, we made a couple of adjustments and slowed him down a little bit the second half,” he said.

          Cam Robinson had 18 and Dawson 17 for Willard

          Both schools and in the top four in the RPI rankings in the same division II district.

          Bedingfield says this was a big game in determining the final seeds.  The MAX PREPS system is supposed to be based more on head to head matchups.  “They're a good ballclub and they have got good balance and our district is tough, so we know that.  We knew it was a big game for the tournament.  We just played a very poor fourth quarter.  We had a three point lead in the fourth quarter we weren't able to attack,” he said.

          Rich says if they meet again in the tournament it will be another war, just like Saturday.  “Me and Coach Bedingfield talked about that before the game.  It's ridiculous how loaded our district really is.  It's going to grind out and see if we can get out.  If we play them again, I'm sure it's going to be another battle,” he said.

Published 1/27/24

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Willard Has to Value Possessions

          Willard, in second place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays two teams out the Lake Division this week in Clyde on Thursday and Bellevue on Saturday.

          They beat another Lake Division team last Saturday when they edged Norwalk (70-68) in overtime.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they were able to make some big plays down the stretch.  “We knew it was going to be a tough game.  We watched Norwalk play quite a bit and they were getting better each and every time they got on the floor.  They have good length, they rebound the ball well and coach (Adam) Kreischer does a good job of getting his kids to play hard.  I thought they shot the ball extremely well, especially early on and we shot the ball pretty well as the game went on.  Our kids just found a way.  They were down 12 going into the fourth quarter and got in some foul trouble.  I think we were able to maybe just keep enough pressure on them and get some easy baskets in transition, hit some big shots down the stretch to push it in overtime.  Just really proud and happy for my kids.  That was a good tournament type of situation to be in.  Hopefully. we can build off of that going in this week,” he said.

          Willard (11-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Clyde (2-11) on Thursday night.  The Fliers lost to Bellevue (56-45) in a Lake Division game on Monday night.

          Bedingfield says they are dangerous.  “They definitely have some pieces.  That record is very deceiving because they've been in every game.  We watched them play Bellevue on Monday and they played extremely hard and had a lead going into the half I believe or led most of the first half.  Olson is one of the better scores in the “SBC” and he can put it up from anywhere and he does good job attacking.  They got some nice pieces with Wott and Wilson around him.  I just think that they're a team that's dangerous because they're never out of it.  A 10, 15 point lead against them is nothing with the way they can shoot the basketball at their pace.  So, I just think that we have got to play on the road obviously on Thursday night and we got to bring the mentality of fourth quarters because it'll be a battle and you can't let them get hot because they can definitely knock down some shots,” said Bedingfield.

          Bellevue (11-3) has won four of its last five.

          Bedingfield says they are very good on defense.  “It's going to be a tough one.  It's an important matchup for district being in the same district and floating around in top five spots there.  They have great length, they some retruners, a nice freshman it comes off the bench for them but does a good job.  They do a great job of rebounding, they have a really good length, which can put pressure on our shooters with Martin twins, the very good defenders that they are,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Coach (Ed) Rich gets his kids to play hard and they're in every game as well.  They're in a tough league.  So, we know it's going to be a challenging week for us as our non conference schedule always is.  We just have got to do a better job of rebounding this week and taking care of the basketball because each possession late in season as you go on is so critical.  Kids don’t realize that the same possessions in the first half are just as meaningful as the final minutes of the second half.  We have got to do a better job of playing four quarters.  We can't get behind good teams and we were fortunate last week, but we don't want to relive that.”

Published 1/25/2024

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Willard Has to Be Patient

          Willard, a game back in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will be home for the Huron Tigers in a division game on Friday night.

          Last week, their buried Vermilion (81-52) in a Bay game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfeld says they had a lot of kids contribute.  “I thought we were more balanced.  We had some kids step up Mason Johnson came off the bench and had nine.   We had a lot of guys, probably four guys, that had nine points or eight points, that's good to see.  I mean Max Dawson and Cam Robinson got their average of 25 and 17 or whatever, but you really need those other guys to step up and be able to make shots and contribute.  I thought we did a very good job sharing the basketball and being able to put five guys on the floor that have to be guarded is really important for us and guys are starting to feel more comfortable in their role and that's a good sign,” he said.

          Willard (10-2,4-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to Huron (5-6,2-3) on Friday night.  Huron lost to Port Cliton (63-56) I a division game last week.

          The Flashes won the first meeting (51-34) on December 16.

          Bedingfield says the Tigers are better.  “They have got a good nucleus.  They have Jackson McNulty who is one of the better athletes in our conference.  They have good size inside and they have very good guards.  Hardy is probably the best three point shooter in our league.  He can just flat out shoot it.  They do a nice job of spacing you out and try to penetrate the pitch and get touches inside for Jackson.  So, we have got to do a very good job of guarding him inside and being able to contest shooters and not let them get second chance opportunities is really big.  I think we were able to do a little bit of that the first time and we had some success.  I like us to be a little more patient on offense and maybe work a little bit more and see if we can get some easier baskets because I think we struggled at times against them on offense,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard trials Margaretta by a game and play them again next month, but Bedingfield says they are not thinking about that game.  “In our league you know with it only being a six team league you have only got 10 opportunities and every time you lose it really does hurt.  We’re really not looking that far ahead, that's not a coach talk or cliché.   We're well aware that we have to go one game at a time and we have to look at Huron because they're very good, capable team.  They have a lot juniors that are getting better and they brought a kid off the JV’s and he is playing really well for him too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We know that they are different team and they're a better team.  We're going to have to play our best basketball no matter who we're playing.  I think we're playing good non league teams and that that'll help as we go through the second round.  I just want to focus in on Friday night first and then move on Saturday and then worry about next month, next month and just the old cliche one game at a time, one day at a time, and what we like to say just win the day.”

Published 1/19/24

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Transition Defense Big For Willard

          Willard, in second place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays host to Lake Division co-leader Sandusky on Tuesday night.

          After losing for the first time all year to Margaretta (58-48) in a Bay division game on Thursday, the Flashes beat the other Lake Division co-leader, Tiffin Columbian, (65-47), on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says it was a good bounce back.  “It was a disappointing loss last Thursday being a league game.  Margaretta has a very good basketball team and we just got beat.  We have got to learn from it and get better, we talked about it and our kids responded and I think that's the biggest thing you want to see as a coach because you're going to have those ups and downs.  You're going to have those peaks and valleys and our kids came ready to play against a very good Tiffin club.  We did things early on to build a nice lead and it was a good four quarter game for us.  Not the game we wanted to lose, but that happens and we'll learn from it and we'll get better,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (9-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at home against Sandusky (7-1), #2 in the poll, on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says they have to be able to handle the Sandusky Pressure.  “They have a lot of nice pieces back from a regional team last year.  They won the conference in the Lake last two years and coach (DeMar) Moore does a good job with his teams.  They play extremely hard and pressure the ball and they get out in transition very well.  They get a lot of easy baskets.  They build a lot of their offense through their defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We're going to really have to take care of the ball and be ball tough first and foremost.  We're going to have to really stop their drives and try to make them shoot over contested hands.  So, it'll be a great challenge for us, but I think that's why you play a tough schedule is to get ready for the tournament here in March and end of February and Sandusky is a very good program and it's going to be a good challenge for our kids.”

          Bedingfield says a team like Sandusky is hard to prepared for because you can’t simulate what they are doing.  “What is hard to do is simulate practice.  You can show the films, you can talk to the kids about being ball tough and you can go through all the drills, but simulating what they're able to do and the speed at which they're able to do it is very difficult to prepare a team for.  So, the best thing that we can do is just continue to preach the fundamentals and sprinting back on defense and taking away their transition baskets.  They don't have to do anything fancy but what they do, they do it well,” he said.

Published 1/09/2024

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Willard has to Rebound, Defend

          Willard hosts Margaretta on Thursday night in a battle of co-leaders in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          The Flashes beat Edison (59-43) in a division game last Friday and then downed Open Door Christian (69-49) early Saturday afternoon as part of the “Jingle Bell Jam” at Cedar Point.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they showed up ready to play.  “I thought our kids did an excellent job working around something we talked about.  Open Door Christian scored a lot of points and to hold them 49 points was very good.  Our defensive pressure was pretty good.  It starts at the top with Max Dawson.  He had a good game.  He had 41 points and it's just the overall team game, but I thought Max was a little bit special on Saturday.  I thought the kids effort was pretty good and we got a lot of kids in,” he said.

          Willard (8-0,3-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, welcomes Margaretta (6-1,3-0), #2 in the small school division, on Thursday night.  The Polar Bears beat Huron (60-38) in their division game on Friday.  In their game in the “Jingle Bellsixth game they smoked Seneca East (68-47) to win their sixth in a row.

          Bedingfield says they are very athletic and they are kids that play a lot of basketball.  “They're very athletic.  They have a lot of kids like Julian Washington, Judah Keller and Gage Bodey.   They have played a lot of basketball.  I mean just for sophomores, they're young, but they have played a lot of basketball.  They play all year round and are very athletic.  They can get into your space really well.  They do a good job of sharing it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “It seems like they play as a team and they space you out.  I think it's going to be a really good test for us.  I'm glad that we're playing at our place.  We've worked on a lot of different things, but they're just kind of really athletic kids.  They got down at Bellevue by double digits and they kept fighting and they're going to be good for some time yet.”

          The Bears only loss came to Bellevue (46-43) in their opener.

          Defense is key, says Bedingfield, and so is getting on the boards.  “Well, the first thing we have to do is rebound.  I mean if you allow Washington and Keller and even Bailey to get on the boards and they're really aggressive kids and they play hard and they do a nice job of keeping possessions alive.  I think Washington and Keller can get their points in any game, so just trying to keep the other guys a little bit more in check.  Doing a good job of maybe taking some driving lanes away from them would be helpful.  So, really just taking away from driving lanes and rebounding basketball I think it's going to be key defensively for us,” said Bedingfield.

Published 1/03/2024

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Willard Wants Better Shots

          Willard plays at home against Edison in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          Saturday at noon they meet Elyria Open Door Christian as part of the “Jingle Bay Jam” at Cedar Point.

          Last Saturday, they kept their record unbeaten as they downed Port Clinton (75-49) in a division game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they could have played better.  “The final score looks a little bit different than how we felt.  Port Clinton did a really nice job for three quarters of just slowing us up a little bit.  They had some kids step up and had some shots.  We were able to pull in the fourth quarter and make it a little bit worse than really what it was.  We've been harping all week on defense and trying to do a better job of making the extra pass.  I just thought we were kind of we're settling early on against Port Clinton.  Credit to them, but we're working on some things and hopefully we'll get it back and shaped up and continue to attack.  It's nice to pull away when you can, but we still know that we have to play better basketball if we want to compete at the higher levels,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (6-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Edison (1-5,0-2) on Friday night.  The Chargers lost (56-42) to Huron in division play last Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they have to take good shots against Edison.  “They have a nice junior class.  They play a lot of kids.  They got some young kids playing too.  Their new coach is getting them really competing in our league really hard.  They get out in transition really well and we have got to sprint back defensively and kind of make them work a little bit more because they like to take some quick shots, they like to get some easy layups.  I think offensively we have to make them work because they're pretty good in the passing lanes.  They have got some athletic kids who could put some pressure on the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We have just got to be more patient and get some more reversals and kind of look for a driving lane or two and not always settle.  I think our team settles a little bit too much.  It's nice when you're hitting outside shots, but I don't want to necessarily live on that, especially against better teams and length and down the road that we have to play with our schedule.  So, we're just really trying to make an extra pass and make the right play.  Edison, they play a lot of guys and (Kayden) Bourget is probably their best player, who averages 16 points, and he's doing a nice job of taking some solid shots.”

          The timing of Saturday's game is a little different, but Bedingfield thinks they will adapt.  “That's kind of time slot they give you, but I told our kids it's like when we go down to the Eastern Ohio (camp) and we'll play for 12 hours on day two and then we'll wake up on day three and we'll tip it off again at 8 AM.  So, I mean we do that in the summertime, now we just have to do that in the winter time.  I know it's a little bit different, but it's a 32 minute ball game and the nice thing is it's a different opponent.  It's just varsity only and it's kind of a neutral site, so kind of gets you in tournament mindset.  We did it last year and we thought we would try it again this year.  So, we'll have a big challenge in front of us.  They like to push the pace and they have got some good shooters.  So, hopefully our kids will be ready to play and I think they will.  Usually, our kids are pretty good about it when we get out and challenge them and try to toughen them up they usually respond well.  Hopefully, we'll be able to do that on back-to-back, it's a little different time, but we want to put them in uncomfortable situations and kind of see what they're made of,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/28/23

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Willard Focused on Port Clinton

          Willard plays at Port Clinton in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Saturday night.

          They play host to Ridgeway Ridgemont in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          Willard, the defending Bay Division champion, began league play this year with an excellent (51-34) win at Huron last Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they responded well to Huron’s efforts early in the game.  “I thought our kids responded really well.  Huron gave us some problems in the first quarter and they were ready to play and credit to them.  It's 10-10 after the first quarter and I tried to tell kids all week that you're going to get everyone's best shot.  They did some things in the first quarter that got them going and our kids responded and that was a good sign.  I think the big thing about it is you're going to find yourself in tough situations, and road games are always tough, especially in in league, and our kids were able to build a lead in second quarter and carried onto the third and finished the job in the fourth.  So, it was a good start to league play when you go to Huron and win it's a good win,” said Bedingfield.

          With holidays here, Bedingfield says thy want to concentrate on becoming a better basketball team.  “Christmas time is upon us and we talk a lot about the schooling and midterms and all the stuff that these kids do nowadays.  They have a little bit more academic pressure on getting to college and doing some of the things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Now, they can just focus in on basketball, taking a little bit of time for themselves obviously too.  We have got to continue to build and get better.  It's early in the season, we’ve only played four games, so we know that.  We have got double header this weekend, so it feels a little bit more normal this weekend because we play a Friday, Saturday.  I think our kids are excited for playing home on Friday and then a league game on Saturday and I think our kids will be ready.”

          Willard meets Ridgeway Ridgemont (4-2) on Friday night, but Bedingfield says honestly their focus this week has been on Port Clinton.  “I think the league game is more important.  Not to just discredit or take away from Friday night you have got to go one game at a time and we get that, but also you got to take care of your league first and I think we've kind of focused in on that a little bit more than a non league game.  Either way, I think our kids will be ready to play and playing good basketball.  We're trying to be a little bit more balanced offensively and focus on defense.  So, that's what you need to do this time of year,” he said.

          Willard (4-0,1-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at Port Clinton (0-5,0-1) on Saturday night.  The Redskins lost (75-34) to Margaretta in their division opener.

          Bedingfield says they must contain Port Clinton’s best player.  “They have one of the best scorers in the league with Jackson Beasley, he's a four year player and he was nice 1-2 combo with Thorbahn last year.  I think he's putting up some numbers and he can score in multiple ways.  They have got some big strong athletes that can you know get him some shots and screen and rebound.  We just have to go there and maybe speed up their guards a little bit and try to limit his touches the best we can and definitely have to win the rebounding battle, that’s been a big focus for us just kind of limiting the other team’s second chance opportunities.  So, if we could do that, especially on the road again, our second league game on the road, then hopefully we come out with a win,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/22/23

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Willard Has to be Physical, Rebound

          Willard, the defending champion in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, opens defense of that title on the road at Huron against the Tigers on Saturday night.

          They got a big non-conference win on Tuesday night, handling defending “N10” champ Carey (52-35) in a non-league game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they played some pretty defense against the Blue Devils.  “I was really happy with our kids.  It was kind of a quick turn around there one day prep to get ready for Carey.  I thought we did a good job of kind of limiting some of the players that hurt us last year.  We had an injury to Jackson Beamer and we had Levi Schag come up from the JV's, kind of a substitute role, come in give us a big lift and gave us eight points and played solid defense on the really good Carter Smiley, a shooter that they have,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I just really thought our kids bought into being a little bit more physical, which is something that defensively we haven't been in the preseason.  So, we have got to keep on working on our defensive end and to hold the team like Carey to 35 points that's a great effort for our kids and I couldn’t be happier.”

          Willard (3-0,0-0) is at Huron (2-1,0-0) on Saturday night.  The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season when Tiffin Columbian beat them (53-52) on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says they have a solid group.  “Well, they have key pieces back.  They had a really solid JV team last year and some of those kids have really stepped up and looked like varsity players in Hardy and McDonald and of course they have Jackson McNaulty, who has played three years of varsity.  He’s one of the really good athletes in our league.  They have got them playing hard, they have them playing fast and they're doing a nice job at Huron.  They always have good athletes, probably some of the better athletes in our league since I've been at Willard are from Huron,” said Bedingfield.

          To win on Saturday night, Bedingfield says they are going to have to match Huron’s intensity and rebound the basketball.  “They're always going to give you a ball game they're physical and they're fast.  We have got to do a good job of matching their intensity and getting back in transition and obviously rebound the basketball, which has been a huge concern for us this year.  We did an okay job against Carey, but we have got to continue to get better at that and we have got to contain their shooters,” he said.

Published 12/15/23

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Willard to Play Athletic Perkins

          It’s the home opener for the Willard Flashes on Saturday night as they host the Perkins Pirates in a non-conference game.

          They opened the season with a (71-58) win at Upper Sandusky last Friday.

          Max Dawson poured in 30 and Cam Robinson added 20 for the Flashes.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says it was a game of runs.  “I thought it was good.  It seemed like there were a bunch of runs made.  Upper came out and they got a lead and then Max (Dawson) kind of got real hot the first quarter we built a lead and finished out the half okay up double digits.  Then upper credit to them, they did a good job of keeping it a little tighter.  We had some defensive lapses.  Overall, you get a double digit win at Upper that’s good.  It’s the first game and you see some new guys in some new roles and it's something to build off, but we got a lot of work to do still,” he said.

          Win or lose, Bedingfield says they always want to find ways to get better and that’s been the case this week.  “It's always about getting better.  We try to preach that every single day and just trying to tell our kids that it doesn't really matter what happened in the past.  It doesn't really matter what happened yesterday it's about today and trying to win the day and just trying to play our best basketball each and every day and progress.  You can't just say you're going to stay the same, you're going to get better or you’re going to get worse.  We want to try to raise their standards, our defensive standards or offensive production and there's all kinds of things about the game of basketball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Coach (Dave) Hirschy and I talk about it all the time what we want to work on and sometimes we can't fit it all into the practice plan, but that's the beauty of it.  It’s just trying to find some details that you need to work on to get better to make sure that your kids are growing in certain areas whether deficiencies or things you're doing well and just continue to progress.  Your schedule is not going to let up it's just going to keep on getting harder and harder it'll start on Saturday.”

          Perkins, after a long football run, opens the season against the Flashes.

          Bedingfield says they are going to have athletes all over the floor.  “They have good athletes, they have good returners from last year.  Their point guard returns and they have a good wing shooter that returns from last year and an athletic post player and athletic post player that transferred in from Toledo Central Catholic.  They do a good job of playing with pace and pressuring the ball.  We're just going to have to be ready for the handle the pressure.  We're going to have to be ready to defend and rebound because they get down the floor pretty quick.  We have got to do a good job of transition defense once again and take care of the basketball and rebound the basketball if you take care of those three areas and hopefully we'll have a chance to win the ball game,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/8/23

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Willard Working

          Willard will be at home for Lexington in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          The Lady Flashes (0-1) lost (45-27) to Upper Sandusky in their first game of the season.

          Coach Alanna Bedingfield says they are working to improve every day.  “We're working hard and we're learning a lot.  With a new coach and everything there's a lot of young players and we're all still learning.  So, every time we look at film and we have a game or a scrimmage and we're looking at film we're looking at how can we improve and what we can do better.  So, just working on improving ourselves right now,” she said.

          Lexington (0-3) lost (45-31) to West Holmes in Ohio Cardinal Conference play on Saturday.

          Bedingfield says they have some big, strong kids inside.  “Well, they're big and they're strong.  They have got a lot of big bodies inside and they really board well on the offensive end.  So, one of our keys is making sure that we're boxing out properly and crashing the offensive and defensive boards pretty hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Their guards are athletic and they're quick and they can get in the passing lanes and cause some trouble there.  So, we have to be able to take care of the ball.”

          Yes, scoring the ball is very important, but Bedingfield says if you don’t handle the ball and rebound, you can’t score.  “Scoring is an important aspect of the game, but we've talked and preached about the little things.  You have got to take care of the ball if you want to score and you have got to rebound the ball if you want to score.  So, those are two little things that go into scoring the points,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/05/23

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Willard Ready to Find Out

          Willard, the defending champion in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay conference, opens the season on Friday night in non-conference play at Upper Sandusky.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they feel like they are ready to go, but you never know for sure.  “You’re always going to want to play a little bit better.  You’re always going to want to get more stops.  Maybe make the right decision on a few more times, but I think it's time for game week.  It's time to see because that's really the only way you really know.  Scrimmages sometimes you play at 10:00 AM, sometimes you play over break, on Saturday, whatever, it's just not a game feel. I mean you get pretty relaxed on some of those things.  Then Friday, we'll go over to Upper and have lights on, people in the seats, people cheering and things and you kind of really see who's really going to contribute, who's really going to be ready to go, because I think there's a huge difference.  I think you really don't know who your team is until right around Christmas time anyway.  So, you just kind of want to see who plays well in the scrimmages, but then you have to take another step and that's what we're looking to do here week one and to you know get started with our league play eventually,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield thinks they are improved in some areas, but they certainly have things to work on like defense and team chemistry.  “In certain areas we are better.  I think in certain areas maybe a little bit lengthier, maybe could shoot a little bit better for some of our positions, but I think what it comes down to is team chemistry.  When you make those long runs its guys playing for each other.  I just think that's still got to be a piece that has to be developed, that has to be developed daily.  It has to be developed organically.  I don't think you can force that.  I think it's something that the kids, your leaders have to do and they have to play for each other.  Basketball wise, I think we could be a better team.  I think could be a better scoring team, but we still have a lot to prove defensively and that's one thing we've been harping on our kids is at the defensive end taking care of boxing out, contesting open shots and rotating,” he said.

          Bedingfield says the Rams offer them a lot of challenges that they will need to be ready for come Friday.  “Well, I mean they have some experienced kids too.  I mean the Holden Daris I think Ha played for Jeff (Winslow) for four years, he's long, tall, he gets in passing lanes.  Justin Heilman does a nice job distributing the ball, but also is looking for his points too and driving hard.  They have a returning junior in Brock Montgomery, who's playing really good ball offensively and can knock down some open shots and kind of gets them going offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Coach Winlsow just gets his teams year in and year out to play harder than most teams that you play.  Going there is never easy, just seems like we've been doing this game since I've been at Willard and they've been doing it even before that.  So, it's always a good test for both teams to kind of see where we're at and I just think it'll be a challenge.  It’s game one, both teams are excited to play, and both teams always play really hard and it should be fun game to attend.”

Published 11/28/23

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Willard Finding More Pieces

          Willard, the defending champion in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division, we have talent back and they are looking to add more.

          The Flashes return Max Dawson, Isaac and Cam Robinson and coach Joe Bedingfield says they are going to have more depth this season.  “I mean we have a couple new guys that are going to join our returning guys.  We have five seniors this year, three of which were starters from last year's championship team.  So, I mean we're looking to fill a few holes.  We didn't play a lot of kids last year.  I think that's going to change a little bit.  I think we'll be able to build a little bit more depth, which is going to help with our new rules in Ohio and the foul situation that could come into play.  I think you're going to need to play a few more than maybe we did last year.  It's nice to have some of those options.  The kids are working hard and I think chemistry would be good and we're trying to get better each day,” he said.

          With good chemistry you win more games and Bedingfield says they are trying to build that.  “I think I learned that a little bit more later in coaching and when I was with Brett Seidel I think he did such a good job building chemistry with kids, and other good coaches did too, but it really stood out to me when I was with him.  You realize it is a lot more about the kids and then playing for each other and their community.  I think if you can get them to feel that they're part of something that's bigger than themselves and they play for each other like they're a little bit more than friends their almost brothers then they go out and they'll do anything for your team.  I think that's a huge part.  They like each other, they don't mind who is getting the points and things of that nature.  Sometimes you can control that and help that as a coach, sometimes it doesn't go as planned.  I do think it's a little underrated in terms of building that kind of bunker mentality of who you're going to put in that bunker with you,” said Bedingfield.

          With three very good players back, Bedingfield says they are trying to fit in the pieces that go around them.  “I think the scrimmages help because it's a little bit like an extension of the summer.  You're going to see did they work on the things that you pointed out to them in the summer when you're playing some other type of scrimmages that you did or did they just not pick up a ball since the last time you told them what to do.  Kids will kind of separate themselves and put them on different teams.  I think the scrimmages kind of help you see who can't play sometimes.  You want to see who can play, but you also want to let them know that maybe they're not ready for varsity yet, but the JV's could be a good learning experience for some kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Some kids need to wait their turn.  I think that's an unwritten rule.  We'll talk a little bit about that.  Last year, we had Brayden Thompson, he played JV as a junior, started on a senior team who won a league title.  I couldn't be happier for him because he kept showing up and I think that's what you don't see a lot anymore in high school sports is kids that will just wait their turn and not have to play varsity right away and just keep developing and buying their time and being patient and good things happen.  When that happens boy does that feel good for not only that kid and that family, but also just your program in general.”

Published 11/09/23

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Willard Girls Figuring Things Out

          The Willard Lady Flashes are attempting to return to their glory under the leadership on a new coach.

          Alanna Bedingfield, an All-Ohio player at Willard, has now taken the reins as head coach.

          She says this week they are really going to get down to preparing for the season, which begins in three weeks.  “Well, honestly, we had them a little bit this summer and we've been working really hard on developing our fundamental skills and learning the new offense.  To tell you the truth, we had five girls missing last week for FFA trips and for Washington D.C.  So, we had two practices before they all left and then we kind of had seven girls, we only have 12 girls total and five were missing the better part of last week,” she told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Returning (Monday) and having all 12 girls back was good and we're starting to see some meshing there and learning some new things and there's a lot still to work on but we're getting there.”

          They open the season November 27 against Upper Sandusky.  Their first Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game is against the Vermilion Lady Sailors on December 2.

          With a new coach there is a new system and Bedingfield says they are working on getting used to each other, her and the girls.  “I mean it's a new coach, it's a new offense, it's a new system and it's going to be a lot of learning for them.  It's also a lot of learning for me to figure out what they can do and how to get the best out of them that I can,” she said.

          Part of the preseason with any team is trying to figure out how all of the pieces go together.  Bedingfield says they are going to be working hard to determine who goes where.  “It's not really the same team as last year.  I know we only lost a couple seniors, but it's a different team.  A couple girls didn't go out that were on the team last year and so it's definitely a different look, a different team.  We're trying to figure out how they can all work together.  It's a puzzle and we have some people that can play multiple positions and we're just trying to figure out you know what's the best position to put them in to help us to be successful,” said Bedingfield.

Published 11/07/23

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Willard Wants to Get Out in Front

          Willard has proven they can score points, now it going to be their defense that is going to tell the story as the Flashes play at Gibsonburg in a Sandusky Bay Conference River Division game on Friday night.

          The Flashes (4-3,2-2) lost to division co-leader Hopewell-Loudon (72-33) last week.

          Coach Bill Speller says there were too many mistakes in the second half. “We had them where we wanted them in the first half.  We were down by one score in the first half and then got a little bit nervous, our offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half, we came out in the second half and turned the ball over twice with two pick sixes and kind of took steam out of us.  So, we showed that we could hang with the better teams and we just have got to finish, we didn't finish,” said Speller.

          Gibsonburg (3-4,2-2) pounded Kanas Lakota (34-3) in a division game last week.

          Speller says the Golden Bears aren’t fancy, but they run the ball very well.  “They are a wing T power run football team.  There's not much at all of a passing game whatsoever.  They are just going to pound it down your throat.  It's not a lot of different things, it's a lot of the same stuff over and over and over.  They just get good at it.  Defensively, it's a 4-2-5 defense with a cover 2 coverage.  We've seen a lot of that this year, so hopefully we can take advantage of what they're doing,” he said.

          Speller says getting a lead could be very important to them on Friday.  He says that Gibsonburg is not a good come from behind team.  “We haven't had any troubles with scoring really.  The offense has been good, so hopefully we can do that.  If we can get a few stops here and there and slow them down a little bit and possibly get a lead they don't really have the capability with the passing game to claw back in quickly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “So, hopefully, the defense can come to play Friday night and we can and get a few stops and take advantage of that on offense.”

Published 10/05/23

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Willard Needs to Show Patience

          Willard has a tough challenge on Friday night as they host unbeaten Hopewell-Loudon in a game in the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          It was not a good night for them last week, when they were demolished (36-7) by Lakota in a division game.

          Coach Bill Speller says they played poorly and really didn’t give themselves a chance.  “We really didn't play well.  We made some uncharacteristic turnovers and 11 penalties.  When you turn the ball over and don't make up the differential and you have penalties like that it kills drives.  We threw two interceptions in the red zone.  Those things hurt, we felt like we should have played a lot better.  We felt we let that one slip through our hands and everybody is pretty disappointed with themselves and our performance.  So, now we got to really bite, scratch and claw to get back into this thing because we've got some tough teams coming up,” said Seller.

          Willard (4-2,2-1) now trails Hopewell-Loudon (6-0,3-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, by game in the division standings.  The Chieftains beat Margaretta (26-14) last week.

          Speller says the Chieftains know what to do and how to do it.  “They are very disciplined and they’ve got good athletes.  Along with the discipline, they don't do a whole lot of stuff, they just do a whole lot of stuff real.  They're a very disciplined program, coach (Brain) Colatruglio has been there for a long time.  He was there for a long time and left for a little bit and then came back.  He just does a really good job and his kids know what to expect from him.  He's been you know doing that that same stuff over and over and his middle school program does the same thing over and over and it's just a well run machine right now,” said Speller.

          Speller believes it they show patience they have to kind of personnel to stay in this game.  “We've got to be very efficient offensively.  We've got to be able to still move the ball and know that we don't have to hit the home run ball every time.  I think that's something that was a problem that we had a bit last week is our kids got the idea that we were trying to hit the home run ball constantly and that doesn't need to happen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “You just need to operate our offense and take what the defense gives us.  If we can do that and you know control things that way I think that we can be very competitive with this game.”

Published 9/27/23

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Willard Needs to be More Physical

          Willard plays their first road “SBC” River Division game on Friday night as head for Lakota to take on the Riders.

          Last week, was kind of a bye for them as they hammered Fremont St. Joe (58-6) in division game.

          Coach Bill Speller says they were able to work on some things.  “I felt you know our start, we were doing that, we were playing real fast and you know getting to the line quick and getting ball snapped and playing our fast-paced, up tempo offense, thought we did that real well.  Unfortunately, the score kind of got out of hand and we kind of slowed things down little bit and couldn’t work on that real long, but I felt like we did a good job of it at the beginning of the game,” he said.

          Willard (4-1,2-1) is at Lakota (2-3,0-2) on Friday night.  The Raiders lost to Hopewell-Loudon, the defending division champ, (39-7) last week.

          Speller says Lakota will claw and scratch until the end of the game.  “They've lost to a couple good teams.  They've lost to Hopewell-Loudon and Calvert, both of them undefeated teams.  Lakota, they're a tough football team year in and year out.  Their record may not show it, but they're a school with a really rich wrestling tradition.  So, when you have got wrestlers on your football team you know you're going to have some tough kids,” he told Swankonports.com on Monday evening, “Their record may not show it every year, but they're just that team that they're going to come physically play you.  They're going to fight you to the end.  They're going to give it their all.  They're not going to roll over and die for you.  They're going to keep fighting and you got to respect it out of them.”

          Willard is up tempo and scores points, but starting now Speller says they have to become a more physical defense.  “I think we have got a number of games coming up here where the physicality of our defense is going to have to be quite a bit better.  Lakota that spread offense stuff and run the ball at you, we've got Hopewell-Loudon, Calvert, Gibsonburg and Margaretta coming up after that and those are all very physical hardnosed hard running football teams that we've got to really strap it up for,” said Speller.

Published 9/19/23

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Willard Working on Improvement

          Willard plays at home on Friday night against the Fremon St. Joe Crimson Streaks in Sandusky Bay Conference River Division action.

          Last week, Willard (3-1,1-0) held on Woodmore (35-30) in a division game.

          Coach Bill Speller says their defense made some big plays late.  “Woodmore is an improved team.  They're going to speak up on some people at times.  They've got some kids that have been playing since they were freshmen and they're juniors and seniors now and getting a little bit more experienced. They're a tough team.  They have a really, really tough kid in Jack Caldwell, a running back and middle linebacker for them, he was a pretty impressive player.  Our kids kept fighting.  We could have made it a little bit of a wider margin than what we did.  We dropped a couple touchdown passes that could have kind of put the nail in the coffin a couple times.  What I was really impressed with though was when the push came to shove, our defense had to make two stops in order to win that ball game and they did a really nice job of doing that and stepping up and taking care of business,” said Speller.

          This week in practice has been a week for improvement and Speller says there are always things to improve.  “That's what the coaches are all about.  No coach is ever satisfied with what happened that previous week.  You could win a game 50-0 and then and coaches kind of look at the film and try and find the mistakes because you always want to get your kids better, you always want to improve on what you did the week before.  So, that's definitely what we did this week.  We pointed out the mistakes and we have got a week here where we can try and work on some of those,” he said.

          Fremont St. Joe has struggled duck in a desert so far this season.  They are (0-4,0-1) and last week they were torched by Margaretta (60-0) in a River Division game.  It was (54-0) at the half.

          Speller says they have some particular things they want to see improvement in come Friday night.  “We started doing a few new things against Woodmore you know that we put in that week.  So, our plan this week is to improve on that.  One of the things is operating our offense even faster.  We want to get to the line of scrimmage, we want the ball snapped, we want to keep the defense off balance.  So, the goal is to improve on what we did against Woodmore, which I thought we did a good job of that and get even faster so as we get further into our schedule,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We've got five games after this.  Lakota is always tough team, they don't always jump out with their record and make it look glamorous, but they have tough kids, they have got a lot of wrestlers over there and they're tough and they want to fight.  Then after Lakota, we have got the meat of the River Division.  We have got Hopewell-Loudon, Gibsonburg, Calvert and Margaretta.  So, we've got to continue to keep getting better and better and improve on those things that are going to keep teams off balance.”

Published 9/14/2023

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Willard Battling Adversity

          Willard beings play a new division, the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, on Friday night they host Woodmore.

          Last week, Vermilion thrashed the Flashes (49-20) for their first loss of the season.

          Coach Bill Speller says the Sailors are a very good football team, plus they were besieged by injuries.  “It’s a much improved Vermilion team.  Very physical, very big, strong, up front on both their offensive and defensive lines.  Coach (Bill) DiFucci has done a real nice job at turning some things around up there.  They have got some nice athletes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Unfortunately, we ran into some injuries in the week.  We actually lost four kids for the season due to some freak injuries, a couple collarbones being broken and a stress fracture in the leg.  Wound up having to start a kid at guard that hadn't had a whole lot of reps.  We had some protection breakdowns, so that didn't help with a with a few things.  Not to take away anything from Vermilion, they did a real nice job running the football.  They're up and coming, it’s not the same Vermilion that people are used to.”

          Speller says they need to have some kids step up.  “It's got to be next man up and just keep plugging along.  I'm confident that we've got some kids that can fill in some spots and do a good job for us.  I think we'll get back on the on the horse here.  Nothing's over and it's one game and you just move on from it, learn from it and go get them on the next one,” he said.

          Woodmore (1-2) whipped Cardinal Stritch (40-16) last week for their first win of the season.

          Speller says the Wildcats are going to want to run the football on them.  “Their mostly a running football team.  They have got a couple nice running backs in the backfield.  Their in shotgun most of the time, but it's mostly a running game attack with their offense.  With their defense, they're in a 4-2-5 defense.  A real nice middle linebacker.  They do a nice job up front.  They get off the ball real well.  So, we're going to have to take advantage of our speed running our offense as quickly as possible to try and keep them off balance,” said Speller.

Published 9/05/23

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Willard Expects a Better Vermilion

          Willard has its home opener on Friday night as they host the Vermilion Sailors in non-conference action.

          This used to be a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game, but Willard is now in the River Division in football.

          Last week, the Flashes beat Plymouth (37-16), shutting them out in the second half.

          Coach Bill Speller says they made some good adjustments.  “Defensively it was definitely a better half for us.  Offensively, I thought we played pretty good both halves.  Time of possession definitely was in their favor, but we were able to do what we wanted to offensively.  We definitely had a much better time with them defensively with the adjustments we made and I think we held them like 82 yards in the second half,” he said.

          Speller says they need to continue to be better tacklers.  He says that isn’t that easy.  “We have got to keep learning, got to keep getting better, have got to keep knowing what their assignments and tackling is always a big thing.  Tackling I think overall if you take a look at tackling across the state I think it's down.  I'm not a big fan of the schedule they put us on.  I think it really takes away from attention to detail with the little things and we're not allowed to hit as much, which understandably trying to you know save kids from concussions.  The last few years just watching tackling just a around other teams it just seems like it's kind of down because I just don't think that we're given quite the time to work on little things like that,” said Speller.

          Vermilion (1-1) lost (30-0) to Oberlin Firelands last week.

          However, Speller says this isn’t your father’s Vermilion or Willard for that matter.  “Much more improved team than the past few years.  This is definitely not going to be an old Willard-Vermilion game where somebody's trying to get their first win in the season.  Both of us have our first win this season.  Traditionally this has been a later in the year game.  There's been number of years where both teams have gone into it 0-9 and trying to get that first win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That's not what either team is like anymore.  There's been a lot more improvement.  They've been a young team the last couple years and those kids are now starting to get older.  They're much more aggressive, they're a physical team and I think coach to (Bill) DiFucci a nice job and at beginning to improve their attitude.”

Published 8/31/23

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Willard Defense Improved

          Willard, coming off a solid win over South Central, takes to the road again to play another team out of the Firelands Conference in the Plymouth Big Red on Friday night.

          Isaac Robinson threw five TD passes last week in a (35-6) win over the Trojans.

          Coach Bill Speller says they played well, especially on defense, but they can still get a lot better.  “There's things I thought we could have done better, definitely.  On the offensive side, which I'm mostly on myself, so you're never happy as a head coach you always want to try and make them better and that was something we talked about in practice (Monday) when we got started was just keep on improving each week.  Hopefully we're progressing and we're going to make a run for things at the end as we just keep getting better and better.  Defensively, I was pretty happy with our defensive performance.  We held them under 200 yards of offense, had eight sacks.  We did some really nice things defensively and that's really good to see after our performance last year defensively.  We kind of struggled with some things and it was nice to get a start defensively like we did last week,” said Speller.

          Speller says this season they have made some important changes in their approach on defense.  “We made a few changes from just two a days going into week one with some personnel, putting some different kids in different positions and it really paid off for us.  I think we're a lot more aggressive defensively right now.  We actually have a new defensive coordinator.  Last year, I was doing both of them.  I was calling the offense and the defense and honestly I probably didn't spend enough time defensively that I probably should have.  This year Joe Lights is calling the defense for us and Andy Harvey is in our press box, also working out the defense.  So, that's give me a little more time to work on other things.  Having a full time defensive coordinator is really helping for us,” he said.

          Plymouth (1-0) pasted Oberlin (40-20) last week.

          Speller sats that aren’t really sure how Plymouth will defend them.  “Well, they're not tricky with things really.  They line up in their bunch formation with their double wings and fullback.  They like to get the ball a lot to Layne Bushey and run him off tackle or run him outside.  The two Keefe boys, who are athletic kids, also run a lot off tackle with them and to the outside.  Defensively, it looks to be a 4-2 defense with the mostly a cover three deep defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Honestly, I'm really not sure what to expect out of from defensively.  Every film that we've seen so far.  Oberlin was a running team.  They scrimmaged Mt. Gilead and Smithville and they're all running teams.  So, this is going to be their first opportunity actually going against a team that that likes to throw the football.  So, there's going to be a little bit of a feeling out process I think at the beginning and hopefully we can establish something and unleash our offensive bit.”

Published 8/22/23

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Willard Must Play Their Game

          Willard has advanced to a division II sectional final to be played on Friday night at Mansfield Madison High School.

          On Wednesday night at Madison they rallied to beat Galion (82-77) in a semifinal.  Max Dawson led four Crimson Flashes in double figures with 33 makers.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says their kids didn’t panic when down seven in the fourth quarter.  “We challenge our kids with our non league schedule.  I thought our league was challenging as well this year. I thought for the most part our kids did a nice job of keeping their composure.  I think that helps to have some experienced guards in Cam (Robinson) and Max (Dawson).  I also think our coaching staff does a good job of working with them on situations and knowing what shots we need to look for and what to do and how to change our defenses and things of that nature.  A lot of coaches work on situations, but we try to also let them figure out the first one and then coach them on the second one because I think sometimes you get on the floor they have got to be player led a little bit more.  Our kids did a nice job of understanding the situation, not panicking, and trying to get the right shot,” he said.

          Lexington (18-4), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is the co-champion of the Ohio Cardinal Conference this year.

          Bedingfield says the Minutemen have a lot of size and they have to be able to compete with them on the glass.  “They're very athletic obviously, they're very strong, they're experienced.  They're really big, some people might come to the game and think it's varsity versus JV, but our kids are battle tested.  We scrimmaged Lexington earlier this year, but that's a totally different team than what we scrimmaged and we understand that.  I think their kids are playing some good basketball.  They also play a really tough schedule in their league and their non league.  They challenge their kids as well.  So, we're going to have to play our best.  Rebounding will be a huge key.  Obviously, they have size and they have one of the best big men around in Forup.  I just think that could be a main factor that we have to prepare for.  The one day turn around is tough, but hopefully our kids are excited to play for another championship on a Friday.  We just need to be conscientious and making sure we box out each possession and do our best to limit their second chance opportunities,” said Bedingfield.

          Lexington is going to be without starting point guard A.J. Young and sixth man Gavin Husty on Friday night, but Bedingfield does not believe they will change their approach to the game much.  “I don't necessarily foresee it being too different because their main players are still on the floor other than their point guard in Young and Husty.  Husty I thought did a nice job coming off the bench for them in some of the games that I watched.  They still have some of the better athletes on the floor and I think that Lexington will just kind of continue to do what they do personally,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's been successful so why change a whole lot.  They're probably thinking that they want us to play their way and we're going to try to do some things that get them to play a little bit more our way.  I think that's what's going to be the difference in the game is can we keep them off the boards and can we play our style basketball.  I think we have got to try to look for the best shot, first of all, and not get into a big rush all the time.  So, hopefully our kids are ready for a 32 minute game.  They answered the bell against Galion and credit Galion because their kids were ready to play and no matter who you play in this division particularly you're going to play a very good team.  We tried to tell the kids that before we played Galion.  We know we're going to play a very good team on Friday and we're going to try to play our best,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/24/23

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Willard Must Slow Galion Down

          Willard meets Galion on Wednesday night in a division II sectional semifinal at Mansfield Madison High School.

          The Flashes (14-8) beat Huron (63-61) last Friday to earn an outright title in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.  Max Dawson had 24 of his game high 34 points in the second half.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they made the tough plays they had to make.  “I thought our kids accepted the challenge throughout the week of not being satisfied of getting a share the week before at Edison.  They knew it was going to be a tough game, a four quarter game.  I really think Max Dawson obviously elevated his game, he had 34 points.  I think Cam (Robinson) obviously guarded (Dylan) Hohler the whole game and he's a tough matchup and Dylan had a great game as well.  It's just a collective effort.  I think are non league schedule helped us prepare a little bit this year for a tough league.  I thought there's a lot of good teams in our league this year that kind of beat up on each other and had a lot of tough games.  We were just very fortunate to do enough when it mattered the most against Huron because we were going back and forth there for a while with lead changes and things of that nature and it was a very good high school game and a very good game the end for our seniors on senior night and help us get ready for a tough district tournament,” said Bedingfield.

          Galion (8-14), out of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, has shown the ability at times this year to score a lot of points.

          Bedingfield says Galion can score in a hurry and this is a team that is going to play hard for four quarters.  “I think they do a nice job of playing free and playing loose.  I’m really impressed with their two guards when we scrimmaged them, (Cooper) Kent and (Elijah) Chafin and (Jack) Hart is being that third leading scorer there for them.  I just think that their kids do a nice job of spacing the floor, playing off of each other and they have got a lot of skill.  They can they can hurt you in multiple ways,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We have to kind of slow them down in transition a little bit and not let them get out get easy looks at the other end and push the ball.  We have to identify shooters soon as we get across half court because they can have some long range threes.  They play through mistakes probably better than many teams that we face.  We saw them against Ontario get down 17 going into the fourth and they cut down to three and had chance to tie and that's a credit to their kids and their coaching staff.  They're doing a good job and they've got a ton better, so we're going to have to be at our best on Wednesday night to advance.”

          Bedingfield says in this division II district tournament there aren’t going to be any givemes.  “You have be your best in this tournament because I really believe in this division II tournament anyone could take down anyone.  We know that, we told our kids that, so hopefully we're ready for that challenge and are ready for four quarters because with a team like Galion no lead safe because they'll keep playing through mistakes like I said and they do a great job,” he said.

Published 2/22/23

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Willard Plays for it All

          Willard, having secured a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title, will play for the outright banner at home Friday night against Huron.

          A Tigers win means they will share the title with Willard.

          Willard got their share with an (82-62) win over Edison in a division game last Friday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they had good focus against an Edison team that was improved.  “I thought we played really, really well early on and the kids were focused and sometimes you get in those games where you play a younger team or team that maybe hasn't had the year that they wanted, but are playing much better and you overlook people and I don't think our kids did that.  I thought our kids were focused and they played for four quarters.  Edison is much approved, they were able to get some shots.  I wouldn't be surprised if they would beat someone late this year or early in the tournament here.  So, you never know with Edison they have got some kids that can put in the bucket and they have improved a lot over the course of the year,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield feels since they already have a share there is less pressure on the Friday.  “It was good to at least get a share because it kind of takes a little bit of the pressure off of going into Friday.  Obviously, we want to get a league title outright and we can't be happy with the share, but we still have got to go out and perform but at least we're playing at home,” he said.

          Willard (13-8,8-1), winners of their last five and seven of their last eight, plays host to Huron (14-5,7-2) on Friday night.  The Tigers had a 10 game winning streak snapped (54-51) by Perkins on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says the Tigers have been rebounding well and they take you out of the things that you want to do.  “They're long and they're athletic.  The thing that they just started playing their better basketball when (Jackson) McNulty came back, the sophomore has really gave them some size and defense and some rebounding,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They rebound the ball well, they clog the lane really well, they're quick enough to take you out of some things that you want to do and they're also able to speed you up.  So, they're a very good basketball team and this is a an experienced team that returns a lot of the main guys from their division II district title last year and now they're in Division III.”

          Huron handed Willard their only division loss (50-37) on January 6 at Huron.

          Bedingfield says they are going to need an outstanding effort to win.  “We're going to have to play our best because they're a very capable team with Dylan Hohler and (Luke) Rager leading the way.  They just do a good job of playing off of each other.  I think they're playing some of the better basketball right now even though they got beat (Tuesday) night at Perkins.  That happens when you have slow starts and they had a slow start.  We're just hoping to play four quarters of basketball and be able to maybe play them a little bit tougher than we did obviously up there.  I thought we were a little bit impatient and got some bad shots and just didn't play our best basketball but that's a credit to them as well,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/16/23

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Willard Can Get a Share

          Willard can lay claim to no less than a share of the title in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night with a win at Edison against the Chargers.

          They beat Oak Harbor (67-44) on Friday night in a division game.

          They then beat Mid-Buckeye Conference champion Lucas (60-57) in a non-league game on Saturday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says it was a real team effort on Saturday night.  “I thought the kids did a nice job.  We got off to another good start and give credit to Lucas that came right back.  I knew they would, I don't know if our kids knew they would, but they're too good of a team not to make runs in the game like that.  I thought Cam Robinson got us off to good start.  Max (Dawson) kind of finally picked it up.  Alex Strayer did a nice job of rebounding the basketball once again.  Isaac (Robinson) hit some big shots for us late in game.  So, it was a total team effort from our kids hitting big shots when it mattered.  There was a time there we kind of went back and forth and that game could have gone either way really.  So, it was a good win.  We were playing at home and it was a kind of a decent crowd there.  A physical game like that against a Lucas team will help us prepare for the tournament and I’m sure it'll help them because they play at Willard.  We were very proud of our kids and the way they battled,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard (12-8,7-1) plays at Edison (3-16,0-8) in a Bay Division game on Friday.  The Chargers ended an 11-game losing streak with a (64-58) non-conference win against South Central on Saturday night.

          Bedingfield says their young kids have matured.  “They have some young kids that are playing and they probably played 20 games and have played most of season especially in our league.  You're basically a junior now and you have played almost your sophomore season.  You either get better or you get worse after Christmas, always love that quote that coaches have used forever.  I just think that's the true form and I think Kyle (Hammond) and his staff have done a great job getting his younger kids ready for varsity basketball.  A couple wins here, played Margaretta close and then they won against South Central.  They are playing with a little bit of confidence and they're just they're getting better every time they step on the floor.  We're going to have to guard the line really well because they're shooting it really well right now,” he said.

          Bedingfield says they have to be ready to play in a championship game on Friday night.  “You would hope our kids would take advantage of that.  You hope our kids would come in motivated.  We've just tried to stress to them that probably since Oak Harbor every time we step on the floor it's a championship game.  Now, we didn't win a championship or lose a championship against Oak Harbor, “ he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon. “Lucas is a championship atmosphere and now we are actually playing for a piece of the title and obviously that's not the entire goal, but it is a goal.  That would be significant seeing that we've delt with a lot of that adversity.  I feel like the lack of numbers and depth and injuries.  That's a credit to our kids and how mentally tough that they've been.  We still have to accomplish that goal and we can't come in too overconfident, but I do like how we're playing as well and I think our kids are playing confidently the last half of the season.”

Published 2/07/23

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First Place Willard Has Oak Harbor

          Willard, the leader of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at home against Oak Harbor in division game on Friday night.

          They host Lucas in a non-league game on Saturday night.

          They beat Bellevue (46-45) in a non-conference, or “SBC” crossover game on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they made some smart plays when they had to.  “I thought it was a low scoring game in the first half.  Credit to Bellevue and their staff.  They those guys prepare and we try to do our homework as well.  Our kids defended hard, both teams did.  It got off to a low scoring start and then kind of exploded a little bit more in the third quarter.  We've been really trying to harp on the 12 points a quarter defensively, stay in the 40s.  Our kids are doing a good job.  We missed some rebounds late again.  We have got to continue to work on that.  Overall, we made some smart basketball plays.  Just enough to win the game, but that game could easily went either way.  It was a fun game coaching.  Kind of a tournament feel in some way and somebody we could see in a tournament possibly as well, so it was a good win on the road,” he said.

          Willard (10-8,6-1) plays host to Oak Harbor (6-11,3-4) on Friday night in a division game.  The Rockets lost (72-59) to Fremont Ross in a non-conference game on Saturday night.  Willard won the first game between the two (67-45) on December 17.

          Bedingfield says he looks for them to try and slow them down and they have showm some improvement since the first time the teams played.  “We did play pretty well up there.  Some of the years in the past where we've kind of struggled there in the past.  I thought that was one of our better league games.  We know that they've played a lot of tough opponents lately and been in some of those games and have gotten better and that's what you want to see as a coach when you have got a young team.  Stokes is a really good player, one of the best players in our league offensively, and he just keeps getting better.  So, I think they're a much better team than the first time we played them.  We have to be prepared to try to limit some of his touches and keep him from feeling comfortable.  Just being able to make it more of a transition game because you know sometimes they have a good way of slowing us down in the half court.  We do too much sometimes and take ill advised shots.  We need to be able to attack in transition and just kind of limit their drives a little bit more than we did the first time,” said Bedingfield.

          Lucas (14-3), the Mid-Buckeye Conference leader, #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, comes calling on Saturday night.

          Bedingfield says they are in for a test, but that’s what they want.  “It's been a good matchup.  We have played them now this might be the fourth time and they've had a lot of success.  They're one of the better small schools in our area and they always had some really good strong athletes.  The Toms boys again, nice shooter in Smollen.  They've had a lot of success and been to a lot of regionals and win their league every year.  It's good for them because they play on our floor in the districts and I know they like that.  We played them really tough last year at their place and it's just been good for us.  You want to play good teams this time of year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Our non league schedule, I don't know if there's many bad teams on that.  Our non league record might not be as good, but our kids step on the floor they really battle anybody because we have tested them this year.  We just feel like it's just another tough non league match up, which we're kind of growing accustomed to and that's what you're going to see in the tournament.  Because if you look at our tournament, the teams that we have top to bottom, there's not an easy one in there.  It's tough in division II and Lucas could play with any of those teams in my opinion with the success is they had this year.  So, it'll be a challenge and we'll have to keep the ball out of the paint and keep them off the boards and be able to handle their pressure that they put on our guards.”

Published 1/31/23

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Willard Tangles With Bellevue

          Willard will play old Northern Ohio League rival Bellevue on the road on Saturday night in a non-conference game.

          The Flashes maintained the lead in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with a (53-48) win at Port Clinton on Friday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they did a good job on the boards and kept the ball out of Port Clinton’s hands.  “I thought we did just enough to get the victory.  I thought Port Clinton played us really tough.  They have big, strong kids.  They were able to get some position down low and get some easy baskets.  I thought our kids did a nice job of rebounding.  I think they only had seven offensive rebounds with their size versus our size I thought kids did a good job of getting position and not letting Port Clinton extend possessions.  We watched them on tape and that's what they're really good at extending possessions.  They hit some shots late and we kept our composure.  Anytime you win on the road in the league this time of year that's a good win,” he said.

          Willard is not very big and Bedingfield say they work every day to become better rebounders.  “Well, it's kind of hit or miss and depends on who you're playing a little bit.  I think it's gotten a little bit better.  It's still going to be an issue on Saturday as Bellevue has some good size and good athletes.  We have to do a better job of not allowing teams to extend possessions.  I think you can hold teams to one shot obviously your chances will increase.  We've been harping on that and trying not to play even.  Sometimes the reason why you don't rebound real well is because you don't have good positioning as you think you can be even with the guy and you rely on your athleticism instead of your fundamentals and don't pivot into the guy and get position,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Some people think it's all about pushing, but we try to tell our kids that we want to be seekers and not avoiders.  I think when it comes to rebounding you have got to seek contact at the defensive end and on the offensive end you kind of do want to avoid with spinning not pushing in the back and getting a foul call.  So, we really try to teach it each and every day and put emphasis on it every day because we know how important defense rebounding is this time of year, especially when you're trying to win to divisional games that will hopefully lead to a league championship.”

          Willard leads Huron by a game in Bay Division standings.

          The Flashes (9-8) play at Bellevue (11-3), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Saturday night.

          Bedingfield says Bellevue has a lot kids that can do damage.  “They have five guys on the floor who can support it and then they bring another kid on the floor that is a good shooter and another kid.  They are probably seven deep with Hartley and Horn coming off the bench and Ty Ray is a really good guard and I think it's his brother Joel is it's a nice one, two punch and then the (Cody) Lindsey kid inside.  One thing that I thought hurt last year was their length and they had the kid graduate that was about 6-7 last year.  I think the Lindsey kid has done a nice job this year in helping them replacing him.  I think we're really going to have to keep their drives out of the lane and get out and contest some shots. The Martin twins, I think they're pretty good defensively, they get their hands on a lot of balls and they're good shot blockers, so they can alter shots.  So, their length really helps them and their athleticism.  Coach (Ed) Rich is doing a good job because that's a tough league to be second in the Lake right now is not a small feat, that's a really tough conference.  They're having a good year and we're going to have to be mentally prepared to play a 32 minute game and take care of the ball and knock down some shots.  So, hopefully if we can do those things and in addition to rebounding put ourselves in position to win a road game again,” said Bedingfield.

Published 1/26/23

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Willard Must Defend

          Willard, the leader in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at Port Clinton in a division game on Friday night.

          The Flashes lead Margaretta and Huron by a game in the division standings.

          They beat the Polar Bears (59-48) last Friday to take sole possession of the lead.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they played pretty good job of executing on offense in the second half.  “We got off to a pretty good start and Margaretta kind of came back a little bit.  We were able to kind of get going really in the second half.  I thought it kind of opened up in the third quarter with some transition and getting a few stops.  I thought we settled a little bit the first half and let them back in that second quarter and took some took some outside shots, quick outside shots, didn't really attack or move the ball.  We extended it to nine or 11 there.  We did a pretty good job down the stretch,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Anytime you win over there that's a good win.  I have taken some good teams over there and came out limping before.  So, we want to make sure that the most important game is the next game.  We just kind of talk to them about being ready to play in a big game and we didn't do that early in the year when we played at Huron, so it was nice to see us step in the right direction there.”

          Willard (8-8,5-1) plays at Port Clinton (6-6,3-3) on Friday night.  The Redskins lost (45-34) to Oak Harbor in a division game last Friday, part of a current three game losing streak.  The Flashes beat Port Clinton (61-56) on December 9.

          Bedingfield says the Redskins have a couple of guys that can really play.  “Well, they have Adam Thorbahnm, who have played four years for them.  He's an inside out.  He's getting the ball more on the block now this year than he has in the past.  He causes a lot of matchup problems for a lot of teams.  He's a 1,000 point scorer and one of the better players in our league.  They kind of play off him.  If you go double and he's excellent passer.  He's not a selfish player.  He's a good rebounder, good defender.  So, we have got our hands full there.  Then the Jackson Beasley kid is a nice little off guard.  He's got a scorers mentality.  Those two do a nice job of looking for theirs without throwing up bad shots,” said Bedingfield.

          Bedingfield says this time they have do a better job defending.  “I think they're a team that plays on rhythm.  If they're hitting shots then like most teams they are pretty dangerous.  They can hurt you when you help too much.  I think first time we played them we lost some cutters and we have got to do a better job backside of seeing both and making them score over top,” he said.

Published 1/19/23

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Solid Defense the Key for Willard Against Margaretta

          Willard and Margaretta are tied for the lead in the Bay Division of Sandusky Bay Conference and they square off on Friday night at Margaretta.

          The Flashes (7-7,4-1) lost for the first time in a division play when Huron beat them (50-37) last Friday.  They came back and outscored Clyde (85-72) in a crossover game on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield is looking for more consistency in their play.  “I'd like to see them get more consistent.  It seems like our kids have a game like the game against Huron, a lot of it is credit to Huron, their kids played excellent for them.  They did a really good job on Saturday bouncing back.  I would just like to see the same kind, I thought the kids really hard on Friday.  We played a little tentative, I think at times maybe thought too much on some things.  On Saturday it was nice to just go out and play.  I thought the kids really did a nice job and that was evident in the first quarter.  They scored 29 the first quarter and held them to single digits.  So, it was a good bounce back and that's kind of what you want to see now you have got to keep that momentum going,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard won at home December 2 against Margaretta (70-59) in the division opener for both.  Margaretta (9-4,4-1) has lost only twice since.

          Bedingfield says they are improved and playing at Margaretta is always tough.  “They're playing young kids, and they're very talented young kids too, so they're getting better.  They've proven that with their record and some of the teams that they beat.  We knew that that they would.  So, to think that you know we're just going to go out and duplicate what we did earlier in the year, it doesn't really work that way.  It's a new game and it’s a new venue.  So, we have to just do the things that we can control and try to do a better job defensively than we did the first time.  I thought the defense at times wasn't very good after watching the last tape,” he said.

          Margaretta has been playing without its leading scorer in Cameron Sosa (12.8 ppg) in recent game due to a violation of team rules.

          However, Bedingfield says they have done just fine without him.  “They have some depth.  It just gives more kids opportunities, I think.  They have handled that situation nicely as a team.  They've had some kids come in and step up.  The (Tate) Bailey kid has started, but I was more impressed with the (Gage) Bodey kid there, who was a shooting the ball really well.  I watched him play against South Central and he had 23 points or something, he's very good very comfortable catching and shooting,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So, they’re a team.  They're not relying on one individual.  I know coach Keller's kid Judah played really well against us the first time you and he has had some really good games.  The (Julian) Washington kid had a really good game against Monroeville.  So, I mean they've had some kids step up and that's what you have to do.  We have to be able to defend them as a team and not just focus in on one guy.”

Published 1/11/23

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Willard Must Limit Hohler

          Willard, in first place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, play at Huron, the preseason favorite, in key matchup on Friday night.

          The Flashes beat Norwalk (60-50) in an “SBC” crossover on Friday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield credits their good start and their ballhandling in the win.  “It was a good response to what was a tough week with some very good opponents.  I thought our kids did a nice job of kind of winning the 50/50 balls early on.  They had a sense of urgency that got us a lead, which we haven't done a lot this year early on.  I thought they played a very good ballgame for the most part not turning the ball over and obviously Norwalk came back a little bit on us, but that's what teams do.  It’s a game of runs and we were able to withstand it for four quarters.  I was very satisfied with Friday's victory,” he said.

          Willard (6-6,4-0) completes the first round of division play at Huron (4-4,2-2) on Friday night as part of a boys’-girls’ doubleheader with the Tigers.

          Bedingfield says this a very good team they will be playing.  “They're very good.  They probably have the best athlete in the conference with Dylan Hohler and they have Luke Rager, who's a really good point guard, who has hurt us in the past like last year, he plays a pivotal roll.  They do a nice job of finding the open man.  The Murray kid is playing really well for them.  I just think that they have really good athletes and they do a nice job of getting them to play hard and sharing the basketball. They're playing a lot better.  I know they've had some sicknesses and some other things go their way early on in the season, but for the most part they're playing better basketball.  They played a very good opponent at the “Jingle Jam” in Bowling Green.  We know that every time we play them it's always a good basketball game, good atmosphere and hopefully our kids are ready to meet the challenge.”

          Hohler, the district 6, division II, player of the year last year, is a handful and Bedingfield says they have to make him take tough shots.  “His athleticism allows him to play the game at a different level sometimes.  He's a very good shot blocker, he's got a very quick second jump, and sometimes he misses and he gets it right back.  He's a very good scorer and transition.  We have to try our best to make his points come more from the perimeter with a high hand and keep them off the glass.  He's a very good passer too.  I think teams that have double teamed them and done some things to try to limit his touches, but he also shares it all.  I think he's very unselfish as well.  He probably could score more if he shot it more.  They got a nice team and they're used to winning and they brought a lot of guys back from last year's team, two guys that were key in last year's team.  I look for them keep on improving and getting better as a season goes on,” said Bedingfield.

Published 1/04/23

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Willard Has to Rebound

          Willard will play it’s third game on this week between Christmas and New Year’s as they play at home against Norwalk on Friday night in a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          On Thursday afternoon, the Flashes (5-6) lost (59-52) to Toledo St. Francis in a game in the “Jingle Bell Jam” at Cedar Point.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they gave up too many runs.  “I thought our kids battled, especially early on.  It's early in the second quarter it’s maybe 19-19 or 21-21 somewhere around that point.  Then our offense got a little stagnant.  I thought we missed some shots, we didn't shoot particularly well from three.  They made seven or eight threes and they were kind of clicking there and ended up being about a 15 point game going into the fourth.  Then to our kids they kept battling and scored 23 and the fourth.  It's you just spend so much energy to get back into the game and you're still a few possessions away we just couldn't get over the hump there, but that's basketball.  It's a four quarter game, it’s a game of runs and you don't want the other team to make too big of a run.  You have got to respond a little bit quicker.  We talked a little bit about that after the game.  Just you have to clean it up.  We have got to clean up our empty possessions and just our lack of rotations at times defensively,” said Bedingfield.

          They have not won as many games this year so far as they would have liked, but Bedingfield never questions his team’s intensity.  “I think they're just disappointed in their overall record, which we all are because we're all competitors, but they're a fun group to coach in terms of they care for each other and there's no selfishness or really any kind of bickering.  Sometimes I wish there was a little bit of that, I'm kind of used to that at times,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I think anytime you can get your kids to battle and not give up.  Even as bad as Monday was against Sandusky it's more of a credit to Sandusky and how they played.  I thought our kids still tried to enjoy the experience and each kid got on the floor.  Then the Shelby game it just got away from us is very similar to that.  They got up by double digits and our kids battled back, but at the end of the day you're still a couple possessions away.  You can't have those quarters in the middle where you don't play as hard or you don't play together offensively.”

          Norwalk (3-5) lost (64-60) to Sandusky in a “SBC” Lake Division game on Wednesday night.  The Truckers have lost their last four games.

          Bedingfield says rebounding is going to be important for them.  “I think coach Kreischer is doing a good job of getting this team to play hard.  They played a very similar schedule, very difficult schedule with the Lake being very difficult and balanced this year.  I know that they'll play us hard.  We played them basically all summer.  Adam and I used to work together, so when he got the job, he was looking for opportunities to get his kids to play and we played them down at camp and we they played open gym against us this all summer.  Our kids know each other really well.  I think they do a great job defensively, Norwalk typically has some bigger stronger kids and they do a good job of closing down the lane and making sure that you're not getting easy baskets they make you work for your baskets.  We are going to have to do a good job taking care of the basketball and spacing the floor a little bit and rebounding.  They do a tremendous job of rebounding and if we let them extend possessions and we could be in for a long night, but if our guys do a good job and try to match their physicality and take care of the rebounding we could we could walk out there and play our best basketball.  That's probably what it is going to take.  It's going to come down to who can rebound the ball better,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/30/22

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Willard with Mid Week Back to Back

          Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division leader Willard plays at Carey in a non-conference game on Tuesday night and hosts Edison in a division game on Wednesday night.

          The Flashes demolished Oak Harbor (67-45) in a division game on Saturday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says they played some pretty good defense and that was the difference.  “I thought we got off to a good start the first quarter defensively.  We talked about giving up way too many points and we kind of tried to focus in.  We talked about how defense travels and we have to travel to Oak Harbor where things over the years we've had some good teams up there taken some losses.  They've had some good teams and we just really wanted to make it a little bit simpler for our kids.  I thought they did a nice job of bringing the defensive mindset and they kind of led to transition points.  We got a first half lead, which we haven't a lot of leads in the first half this year.  So, it was good to see the kids play a complete four quarters,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard travels to Carey (5-0),# 3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll, who ended Colonel Crawford’s 58 game winning streak on Friday night, for a non-conference game on Tuesday.

          Bedingfield says they are going to need to play physical basketball.  “They're very good, they're very athletic, and well coached.  They do a good job of pressuring the basketball.  They do a good job very simple things just cutting hard and curling.  I think they're strong and athletic.  The point guard (Brayden) Young is playing really well and (Carter) Smiley hit some big shots.  Not only do they have big strong kids in the middle they also have shooters on the outside.  They're complete team it's going to be a tough challenge for us on the road, but we kind of play a good schedule as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “So, hopefully our kids are ready to battle, ready to play and we'll just go there and try to once again focus on defense because in tournament and on the road, you have to defend in order to win.  We're just trying to put a real emphasis on defending.”

          Willard (4-3,3-0) is at home against Edison (1-4,0-3) on Wednesday night.  The Chargers were roughed up by Margaretta (60-30) in a conference last Friday.

          Bedingfield says they are going to have to play with a lot of energy and effort because Edison is going to play hard.  “They are young.  In the games that I've seen that (Kyle) Hammond has them playing really, really hard.  They have the (Kayden) Bourget kid that's a pretty good player for them and has some experience.  I think we kind of really focus in on the league play.  That's first and foremost, so we kind of kept focus a little bit on them and kind of their spread offense that they run.  We just need to do a good job of being solid and keeping guys in front of us and forcing their weak hand and try and hold in the one shot.  They play hard and yeah that'd be a tough back-to-back, but it is a good thing that we're playing at home,” said Bedingfield.

Published 12/20/22

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Willard Must Take Advantage of Opportunities

          Willard plays up at Oak Harbor in Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division action on Saturday.  The Flashes are the early leaders a division where only two division games have been played.

          On Tuesday night, the Flashes got 43 points Max Dawson, but lost to (80-72) to old rival Shelby in a non-conference game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield they just didn’t make enough plays, especially on defense.  “It was a competitive battle, it just got away from us, I thought, in the third quarter where I thought they won the transition battle.  I thought in the first half they did a good job of winning the 50/50 battle and their out of bounds plays kind of hurt us.  Just the quick ones where they throw it over the top to their athletes.  Our guys were maybe standing around when they should have been ready and in a stance.  We watched the tape and there's a lot of things to learn from that.  The third quarter was really huge for them and not good for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “So, what we need to do is just learn from that experience because there's a great fourth quarter there when kids battled.  I thought Dawson was able to have 40 points, but it's also his teammates were able to find the hot hand the fourth quarter.  Sometimes you get in that situation and kids want theirs and our kids all wanted the win.  So, it was a loss and it's never good to lose, but it's never good to lose and not learn from it and hopefully we'll learn from it and move forward.”

          Willard (3-3,2-0) makes the long trip to Oak Harbor to face the Rockets (3-4,1-1), who have won their last three, including (50-32) over Edison in a division game last week and (55-32) over Woodmore in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Bedingfield says the Rockets have developed into a pretty good team.  “Eric (Sweet) does a great job they played some tougher competition in the beginning of the schedule I think and they play some young kids.  So, they're developing in their roles.  They have one of the better offensive players in the (Ethan) Stokes, who's averaging over 20 points a game.  He can really put it up and has developed a nice outside shot.  He shoots over 40% from the three point line, which he wasn't doing as a as a freshman and he's only a sophomore, so he will continue to get better.  It always seems to be a place where we struggle to find rhythm and we talked about that a little bit in trying to make things a little bit simpler this week and just you know go out there and make some reads and be a little bit more physical,” said Bedinfield.

Willard has really strengthened their non-conference schedule this year and Bedingfield hopes that helps them in games like this.  “I hope our non conference schedule that we have played so far prepares us a little bit more for the league and that's kind of the whole idea of playing some of these better teams that we've played so far.  Our last two losses against a pretty good Perkins team and a pretty good Shelby team.  Hopefully we're coming off of two losses that we can learn from and take advantage of some of the mistakes that other teams are making instead of you know causing more and more mistakes that we're making,” he said.

Published 12/16/22

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Willard to Play Tough, Physical Port Clinton

          Willard continues play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they host the Port Clinton Redskins.

          Willard has started the season (2-1,1-0) and beat Margaretta (70-59) in their first division game last Friday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield is pretty happy with the start they have gotten.  “We are disappointed with the loss on Saturday, but the mistakes are all correctable and that is what we have been trying to focus in on this week as we start practicing and getting ready for Friday and Saturday.  It is just correcting some of those mistakes and some of those turnovers we had in crucial moments.  We won the league game, which is good start in our league.  We take it one game at a time.  After three games it is a pretty good start.  We would like to be 3-0, but it is something to learn from and something to get better going into this week,” said Bedingfield.

          They play another school out of the Lake Division on Saturday night in Sandusky Perkins.

          Bedingfield says there is a reason they have attempted to make their schedule a little tougher.  “You can look at it a lot of different ways.  We need 12 non-league games with how our league is set up with only having 10 league games, so that is a lot of non-league games to fill.  We are in the “SBC” and playing up is available with some of those teams.  We have some good “SBC” schools that are somewhat close in proximity.  Our schedule is good and hopefully that helps us.  I know it’s going to be a challenge each and every night we step on the floor and we tell our kids that.  It is one of those things that you hope you are ready for the tournament.  This year being division II, we want a little tougher schedule because we to play against some of those better athletes and better programs,” he said.

          Port Clinton (3-1,1-0) beat Oak Harbor (50-49) in their first conference game last Friday.

          Bedingfield says they are big and physical and they have some skill too.  “They are very big and physical.  They have some experience with Adam Thorbahn, he is a 1,000 point scorer going into his season year and he has played four years.  He is a load down low and he can go outside.  They have Jackson Beasley, who also has some experience and played really well last year.  So, a lot of their sets, a lot of their offense, is off those two kids.  They are very good players and very unselfish,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have some key pieces around them.  Some physical football players, they are strong, and they do a good job rebounding and on defense.  It will be a tough test for us.  They are a basket away from being undefeated.  We were there that night and watched them play.  It probably wasn’t there best shooting performance of the season.  They are very capable.  They beat a good Bellevue team.  It will be a tough game for us at home.”

Published 12/07/22

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Tiffin Columbian Outlasts Willard

          Tiffin Columbian outscored Willard (16-11) in the fourth quarter and beat the Flashes (54-49) in an “SBC” crossover, or non-conference game, at Robert L. Haas Gym, on Saturday night.

          The Flashes held an (11-7) lead after the first quarter, but Tiffin took a (12-11) lead with 6:44 left in the half on a Bryce Roggow basket.  Three lead changes and a tie led a Columbian (23-19) lead at halftime.  The tempo was quicker in the third quarter with the Tornadoes taking as much as a six point lead on a Logan Beaston hoop with 2:50 remaining in the third, but the Flashes wouldn’t go way closing to within one three times, the last after a Braydon Thompson layup with :30 left in the quarter to make it (39-38) Tiffin after three.

          Willard again cut it two one (42-41) with 7:01 remaining when Max Dawson converted.  They would never be that close again as Dawson’s field goal was the only make for the Flashes in the 5:20 of the final quarter.  The lead was to grow to many as eight (52-44) with 1:02 left after a Isaac Garcia free throw.

          Columbian coach Travis Kinn felt his players turned it up a notch on defense.  “We gave away some offensive rebounds in the third and kind of throughout the first half.  We finally buckled down the fourth quarter and got enough stops to make a little bit of a run.  That allowed us to play in transition a little bit.  It a little easier to score the ball when their defense isn’t set,” he said.

          Willard had three three pointers in the first four minutes of the game, two by Dawson and another by Cam Robinson and built and (11-3) lead 3:41 left in the first quarter, but Dawson’s three with 6:44 to go in the third quarter was the last perimeter shot they would make.

          Flashes coach Joe Bedingfield says they fell in love with the perimeter shot and didn’t get it inside enough.  “The second quarter was bad for us.  I thought we got off to a good start.  We had some guys that shot the ball well early and then we kind of went away from going inside, which happens when you shoot some early threes.  We fell in love with that early.  Tired legs, or whatever you call it.  Both teams played (Friday) night and I don’t think Tiffin shot it that well either,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “In the second half, they got out in transition a little bit more.  We were trying to go zone on misses because they are a tough transition team and we didn’t so a good job of actually getting into our zone.  We had guys confused.  We have a lack of experience with double weekends and we had some new guys in there.  Things didn’t go our way.”

          Beaston, Tiffin’s leading scorer was held to 14 points, well below his average, but Kinn says he got other players involved.   “He missed a couple of shots early (Saturday) night.  He is not playing up to the standard he has set for himself and I think we understand that.  Fortunately, we had some other guys step up.  He still led us in other ways in getting guys organized, getting guys in the right spots and making sure guys understand defensive assignments.  (Friday) night we had Zach Shawberry step up.  (Saturday) night, I thought Isaac Garcia hit a big three for us that gave us a little bit of cushion right in front of our bench.  We got some offensive rebounds.  Bryce Roggow got some buckets late.  We had four guys in double figures, so it was anybody out there could score the ball for us,” said Kinn.

          Bryce Roggow led the Tornadoes with 15.  Garcia added 12 and Brayden Roggow had 10.

          Willard looked tired in the fourth quarter and Bedingfield says they did kind of run out of gas.  “We are still plugging a JV kid or two in there when we can.  They have to know what is going on when we put them in there.  We have to get used to it.  We talk to the kids about no excuses, you still have to play.  You have to fight though fatigue.  Both teams really made some fatigue mistakes that were uncharacteristic.  I think we made a few more.  I made a few mistakes with some defensive changes and left some guys open and credit them, they made shots.  Garcia, Newlove and Shawberry a little bit more and we were slow rotating backside when we did those things.  Credit them they were hitting the shots,” said Bedingfield.

          Willard did not have much balance in the scoring column.  Dawson had 27 and Cam Robinson had 19, but only two other players scored.

          Kinn says he felt they made Dawson work for his points, led by the defensive play of Garcia.  “He was matched up on Dawson for much of the night.  He had whatever he had, but he really had to work for them.  The first six he had, he got loose in transition and made two open threes, but other than that I thought Isaac (Garcia) and Zach (Shawberry) and Jack Newlove did a really good job of making him earn his points and take away some of his efficiency and try and wear him down through the course of the game,” he said.

Published 12/03/22

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Willard Good, Needs to be Better

          Willard, with a win under their belts, opens play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night with a home game with the Margaretta Polar Bears.

          Last week, they rallied in the second half to beat Upper Sandusky (63-51) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says with some lack of varsity experience they were a little shaky in the first half, but they turned it around with defense.  “I was really happy with my team.  We always talk about that first game and that you really don’t know what you have.  They get out there and we have a couple of kids that it their first varsity game ever.  Alex Strayer is a senior, but he has ben hurt for three years and not a lot of people knew about him and he almost had a triple double and he showed a lot of poise in the second half.  We have Max (Dawson) and Cam (Robinson), who are experienced.  So, no one was panicking, which is good to see.  Isaac Robinson, it was his first varsity start.  It was good to see,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We made a little adjustment at halftime with our defense and we got some traps and steals.  We built ourselves right back into the game at the defensive end, which is what we talked about at halftime, taking one possession at a time and try and win the third quarter.  Once we did that, we tried to win the fourth quarter.  The kids responded really well and it was a good start to the season.”

          Bedingfield says they can certainly get better on both ends of the court.  He says that have to be more patient with the ball, talk more on defense and rebound better.  “I think we have to work on being a little more patient offensively.  I think we went out there in the first half and the ball just stuck a little too much and got a little stagnant.  We have to work on our rebounding.  We always put an emphasis on that because of our lack of size.  Defensively, I don’t think our kids communicated.  I was upset by our lack of communication.  I am very proud of our efforts.  We are not very deep this year.  I think everything that we talked about and showed on film after the win is correctable, so that is a good thing.  So, I think with each and every game we are going to go out there and get a little better and fundamentally sound,” he said.

          Margaretta (1-1) blasted Western Reserve (60-22) and lost (54-40) to Bellevue last week.

          Bedingfield says transition offense and defense are going to be big for the Flashes.  “They have a solid core.  They have some returners form last year’s regional team with Wiley, Sosa has played for four years and they have two nice freshmen in coach Keller’s son (Jonah) and Washington, the transfer from Perkins.  They are very athletic.  They get after you defensively.  They have multiple kids that can score from multiple positions.  I think we are going to have to be pretty fundamentally sound and share the ball and do a good job of communicating defensively.  We need to get out and run a little more.  I didn’t think we did a good job in transition.  Maybe that is just getting later in the quarter and getting fatigued.  That I something we continue to work on.  We have to get back because they like to run too.  Defensive transition is something we need to work on as well,” said Bedingfield.

Published 11/30/22

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Willard Must Rebound

          Willard hosts Upper Sandusky in a boys’ basketball non-conference game on Wednesday night.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says you never know for sure, but he thinks they are ready to execute in the season opener.  “I think it is human nature to be anxious to get going.  You feel like you are ready, but there are always going to be things that first game that you feel you could have done a little better job as a coach when you look back at it.  So, I think we have done the best that we can do with some of our injuries and some of the other things we have going on.  A lot of programs are going though the same things.  We are just anxious to get going and looking forward to the opportunity to play Upper at home (Wednesday) night,” he said.

          Upper Sandusky is always one the better division II schools in the area and Bedingfield says the Rams are physical and have some skill too.  “They always play hard.  The kids are always well coached.  They just come at you and play a really physical brand of basketball.  They return some guys from last year.  The Daris kid has played three years of varsity basketball.  The (Levi) Lamb kid hurt us last year with his athletic ability and his outside shot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They have some young players that are pretty long that might not have a lot of experience, but are playing pretty well for them.  I think coach (Jeff) Winslow does a good job.  He is mixing in some defenses that he hasn’t done in the past.  We have to be prepared for a four quarter game because it usually is.  They will play us tough.”

          Bedingfield says an important factor on Wednesday night will be their ability to rebound the basketball.  “They can shoot the outside ball.  I think that is more and more teams now kind of relying a little bit on it.  Offense favors the three point shot now.  There isn’t a lot of back to basket players anymore.  You have seen that evolve a little bit if you will.  Obviously, those things add up.  We have to do a good job chasing their better shooters off the line.  They have multiple that can get hot if we allow it.  We have to do a good job of scrambling out and run them off the line.  The big thing for us is rebounding.  We have to do a great job of rebounding.  We are not big this year.  We have to make sure we are seeking contact and not avoiding it,” said Bedingfield.

Published 11/23/22

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Willard With Some Pieces

          Willard returns three players that were starters on a team last year that reached the district semifinal.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says with what they have back there is no question they have some building blocks.  “We have some experience.  We have Max Dawson, who was an All-Ohioan last year coming back.  He led the league in scoring at 20 points a game.  We have Cam Robinson, who was a very solid defender, rebounder, finisher.  He has really worked on his shot this year.  He is shooting the ball really well.  We have Isaac Robinson, who ended up starting in our district game last year.  So, we had three sophomore starters in our district game last year against Western,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They are all coming back.  We have a kid with lost last year to injury in Alex “Joey” Strayer.  He hasn’t played must high school basketball.  He basically has a rebuilt knee and he is playing pretty well for us right now.  We might not have a lot of depth, but I like how this team is playing and more as a team each and every day.”

          Bedingfield says one of their major goals during the preseason is to find some players that can play certain roles for them.  “You have to find kids for roles and that is the good thing about scrimmages.  We usually don’t do five scrimmages, but we need to do five scrimmages this year just see how everybody plays with each other and who fits where and what position and that has been really good.  We just finished up our second scrimmage and we started defining roles a little more just this week,” he said.

          Willard tips-off the regular season the day before Thanksgiving at home against Upper Sandusky.  Their first Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game is against Margaretta on December 2.

          The Flashes are going to have scorers, but Bedingfield says they have to get better on defense.  “I think my favorite part of this team so far is that they are so coachable and they are sharing the ball really well.  I think they are the type of team that is understanding that we just want to make the right play.  We don’t have to be perfect, but we have to make the right play and that is really what we are looking for.  Just seeing what they can do collectively and get a little better at the defensive end.  Right now, I think our offense is a little better than our defense.  That worries me a little bit.  Hopefully, that will keep getting better each and every day,” said Bedingfield.

Published 11/11/22

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Willard Needs Win

          Willard hits the road for the first time in divisional plays as they head for Port Clinton to battle with the Redskins on Friday night in Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division action.

          Last Friday, they lost a shootout to Edison (56-48) in a division game.

          Coach Bill Speller says they just couldn’t get enough stops and they had some untimely turnovers too.  “It is the same thing again.  We made a couple of mistakes against a good team and let them back in.  We definitely need to play some better defense.  Offense was firing on all cylinders.  We happened to turn the ball over a couple of times and it got away from us right at the end there.  I am really proud of these kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Somebody reminded me that this was probably the first game in many, many years that we have actually been competitive in right up until the end.  So, they are learning and that’s big thing.  We just have to learn how to get over the hump right now and finish a game like that.”

          Edison’s Marcus Medina returned an interception for a score for the deciding touchdown.

          Willard currently stands 17^th in division V, region 18.  They top 16 get in the playoffs.  After Port Clinton they play division co-leader Oak Harbor.

          Speller says they need a win.  “It is week eight right now and their bodies are feeling it and we had to have a long talk about that and taking care of their bodies.  Right now, we are trying to get in the playoff hunt and we are sitting one spot out of that right now.  We have some big games coming up and if we can win at least one of these next two we are going to pick up some big points and get ourselves into a playoff spot,” he said.

          Willard’s Isaac Robinson leads the Bay Division in passing yards (2,446) and TD passes (30) this year.

          The Flashes (4-3,0-2) are at Port Clinton (4-3,1-1) on Friday night.  The Redskins beat Vermilion (41-0) in a division game last week.

          Speller says they are big in the trenches.  “They have a big offensive and defensive line, that’s for sure.  Samari Smith and (Ethen) Ranzenberger kid, one is a tackle, one is a guard, both are about 300 pounds and they are strong.  Then their big tight end (Adam) Thorbahn is a heck of an athlete.  They have a lot of guys that go both ways, so hopefully we can take advantage of that a little bit, especially with our offense and the way that it runs.  Hopefully, we can fight it out to the end with them,” said Speller.

Published 10/06/22

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Willard Has to Not Panic

          Willard had a four game winning streak broken last week and they need put the pieces back together as they are at home for Edison in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game on Friday night.

          They were taken to the woodshed (66-35) by Huron in their opener in the Bay Division last Friday.

          Coach Bill Speller says they put too much pressure on themselves.  “I think our guys put a lot of pressure on themsleves.  We have kind of gotten off to a good start and had a big game against a league rival and wanted to make a name for ourselves and we made some mistakes.  We pressed a little bit and turned the ball over and got ourselves into a hole.  I think they put a little too much pressure on themselves during the game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “So, we had a big talk about not panicking.  We are going to get back at it and just relax and do what they have been taught and what they have learned so far and what we can do this week against Edison.”

          Speller says the need to run the ball better and right now they are talented, but still a little thin at key positions on defense.  “I would say we needed to run the ball a little bit better.  They were really quick up front and we were slow to get on some blocks, so that has been a concentration this week.  Defensively, depth really showed.  We had a couple of injuries go out and we brought in some younger guys to fill in those spots.  Those younger guys are going to be incredible players in the future, but they need that time and experience.  Unfortunately, they had to get some first had experience in a very tough game,” he said.

          Willard (4-2,0-1) entertains Edison (4-2,1-0) on Friday.  The Chargers outlasted Port Clinton (13-7) in a Bay Division game last week.

          Edison means triple option and Speller says they have to score when they have the chance because they probably aren’t going to have the ball a lot.  “You have to be really gap sound and take away what they want to do.  They make those reads really quick on you.  Their quarterback Marcus Medina is really slick at making those reads and he is pretty quick.  They are a power running, triple option football team.  They don’t want to throw the ball, they want to control the clock and march the football down the field with long, sustained drives.  Offensively, we are going to have to do what we do best and that is score quick and score often because they are going to control the football,” said Speller.

Published 9/28/22

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Willard Faces Athletic Huron

          Willard takes four game winning streak into play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they entertain the Huron Tigers.

          The Flashes (4-1) held on to beat Kansas Lakota (41-31) in a “SBC” cross over game last Friday.  They have averaged 52 points a game with their air raid offense this fall.

          Coach Bill Speller says it was good that the game was close at the end.  “Our kids haven’t been through that.  They have suffered through some really lean years.  They have suffered through a lot of running clocks on the bad side of things.  To have to figure out how to win a football game and adjust to some things and pull through is big going into the Bay.  So, it was a good moment for us,” said Speller.

          Huron quarterback Dylan Hohler has thrown 12 touchdowns and ran for nine more.  Speller says he is a special player.  “They are very athletic.  They are definitely one of the top teams in the Bay Division.  They have a really good quarterback in Dylan Hohler.  He is a well known athlete in the area.  A really good basketball player as well.  He is a heck of a quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “He has some wheels and he has a heck of an arm.  We definitely have to focus in on him and keep him contained or he is going to have a fun night himself.”

          Speller says they need to find a way to contain Hohler if he gets out of the pocket.  “A big thing that they do is they roll him out of the pocket, that is a big part of their offense.  So, containing is going to be a big part of Friday night,” he said.

          Speller says Huron is just very athletic as a team, not big, but athletic and hard to control.  “They are not a big team.  They don’t have a lot of big guys, but they are athletic all around.  I think both teams are similar offensively and defensively.  We run the same kind of offenses and defenses.  So, I think it is going to be a fun game.  I hope it comes down to a shootout and we really entertain the fans,” said Speller.

Published 9/23/22

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Willard Looking for Some Balance Against Lakota

          Willard plays its final non-conference game of the season before heading into play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference as they travel to Lakota to meet the Raiders of the River Division.

          Last week, they beat another River Division team in Fremont St. Joe (63-7) on Friday night.

          Coach Bill Seller say they did good things on both sides of the ball.  “It was a good game, it was fun, we had a lot of athletes really show out in the game.  Their numbers are down a little bit, but our kids played their hardest.  We played very good defensively.  We were really happy with the defensive performance.  Our offense is still clicking,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think our biggest win of the year has been definitely the Seneca East game.  They are probably going to be around 7-3 or 8-2 and that is going to give us some big points into the playoff season.  This was a fun one against St. Joe.  We are on to the next right now and see if we can get Lakota and then we go into the “SBC” Bay and it is going to be a tough road to hole.”

          Speller says their defense is improving and has kind of found itself.  “I think when we started the season out, we were still feeling ourselves out.  What did we have coming back from last year?  When you watch scrimmage film on other teams it doesn’t really give you a good sense of what they do.  So, I think it was kind of feeling our process for ourselves and figure out what we were able to do.  We have found some things that we are comfortable with now and it just a matter of adapting to the teams that we play,” he said.

          Lakota (1-3) lost (34-7) to defending River Division champ Hopewell-Loudon last week.

          Speller says they need to stop the Raiders run game and there may be some opportunities to throw it when they have the ball.  “They get into a lot of spread formations offensively.  They struggle a little bit with the pass game, but they are a decent running team.  They have a nice quarterback.  They have been playing two kids at quarterback, both them are built pretty much the same and are pretty good runners.  Defensively, they are a 4-3 defense, 4-4, kind of defense and into some zone coverage.  We will see if we can take advantage of some holes in their zone with our passing game and try and get our running game going a little bit,” said Speller.

Published 9/13/22

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Willard Kids are Buying in

          Willard might have its best football team in quite some time based on what we have seen so far.

          They are only a field goal away from being unbeaten.

          The Flashes are at Fremont St. Joseph for a non-conference game on Friday night.

          Willard (2-1) beat Seneca East (35-24) in a non-league game last week.

          Coach Bill Speller, in his second year, says the players believe in what they are doing.  “We have some kids that have bought in.  I am a fairly experienced coach.  I have been coaching for over 30 years, over 20 years as a head coach.  I came into a tough situation that Willard had gone through.  They had just come off an 0-11 season, which unfortunately is the worst record in Ohio High School Athletic Association history.  This community and this school and football program were hungry for something.  The first year went a little rough, but this year the kids have bought in.  They had a great summer in the weight room and they are really excited and it has been a really strong team atmosphere so far this early part of the season,” said Speller.

          Isaac Robinson leads the “SBC” Bay in passing yards (1,134) and TDs (12) this season. 

          Speller says the players like the offense they are running.  “We have some nice athletes.  We have five guys that can catch the ball and run with it and that makes us really dangerous.  Who are you going to defend?  So, it makes it really tough.  Our quarterback Isaac Robinson.  We started him last year as a sophomore on a 1-9 team.  That was the plan to get him some experience because we knew it was going to be a work in progress, so we might as well get him some experience and get him off to a start that year.  He has really learned a lot.  His football smart has really come along.  He has really done a great job,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “He has a great arm.  He is a heck of a baseball player, a heck of a pitcher.  The tools are there and we have a lot of weapons to work with.  I started running the air raid offense back in 2012 when I was at Wayne Trace High School.  Put up some pretty big numbers there and just kind of brought it here and the kids have really bought into it and they love it.  The absolutely love the number we are able to put up.”

          St. Joe (1-2) lost (7-0) to Woodmore in overtime last week.

          Speller says they have some guys on offense that can make some plays and they are an experienced team.  “They are not a big team and they have had their struggles the last few years.  This is probably a team that they expect a few wins out of.  They have a nice senior class.  I think they have 10 or 11 seniors on their team and they have a team of only 23 kids.  Just about half of the kids are seniors.  They have some nice athletes.  They have some big receivers.  They have three guys over 6’2” at the receiver position.  They have a big line offensively and defensively.  They come off a tough loss to Woodmore last week, losing in overtime.  They are a small school program.  We can’t sleep on them at all, we can’t do that anyway, we have had our struggles in the past.  Our kids are really hungry right now.  They want to go out and show the community and the aera exactly what they have got,” he said.

Published 9/06/22

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Willard Faces Balanced Western Reserve

          It’s Willard and Western Reserve in a division III district semifinal at Norwalk High School on Thursday night.

          The winner plays with Colonel Crawford or Elmwood in the district final on Saturday night at Norwalk.

          These two teams played in the district final last year with the Roughriders winning (65-64) to advance to the regional.

          Willard coach Joe Bedingfield says these are really two different teams.  “It’s not really a mismatch. It just the same two programs playing each other that are in the same district.  They graduated two very strong players in Skrata and Rowlinson, but their senior class this year is very balanced.  They have won quite a bit in their careers.  Winning four or five league titles, which even goes beyond this senior class.  It is two programs that have had some tournament success and have met up in the districts.  Hopefully, it will be a little different outcome this year, but we are going to have to play really good basketball in order to beat a team like Western Reserve,” he said.

          Willard (14-9) plays a Western Reserve (21-1) team that has only lost once and that was to unbeaten Tiffin Calvert.

          Bedingfield says they are very balanced on offense and have a lot of ways they can hurt you.  “Anytime that you can put five guys on the floor that you have to guard makes them very difficult to guard.  Sometimes you want to find one or two guys you don’t have to guard as tight or you can help off a little bit more and focus in on their main players.  In tournament games I think coaches do a good job taking away your best players and your role players are key,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I think they have guys that are considered role players on their team that on another team would be their main player.  With the depth they can ware on you and rotating three in and they pressure the ball really well.  They are a very good defensive ballclub and that is a credit to their coaching staff and what they do.  I just think there are a lot of ways offensively that they can hurt you, especially if they are hitting shots from the outside.”

          Western is outstanding on defense and Bedingfield says they must be strong with the ball and attempt to spread Western out a little bit.  “You have to be strong with the ball.  You have to anticipate at some point they are going to be able to leave their man and double.  They do a good job if you turn your back against pressure, they will usually send a guy at the ball.  They do a very good job of scrambling out.  They don’t necessarily guard their man, they guard all five guys on the floor.  That is a concept that we always try and get better at throughout the year, but a good defensive team work together collectively and they do that.  I just think you definitely have to be strong with the ball.  You have to make good decisions with the ball.  You have to be able to find openings and spread them out a little bit,” said Bedingfield.

Published 3/03/22

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Willard Wants to Get Down the Floor

          Willard takes on Woodmore at Hopewell-Loudon High School in a division III sectional final on Friday night.

          The winner gets a ticket to the district tournament next week at Norwalk High School.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says he has seen a little refocus in his kids this week as they get ready for Friday.  “There definitely seems to be a little more focus.  Unfortunately, this year during the regular season with our league being so good we weren’t really playing for a league title here in February like we have been in the past.  We kind of flipped the switch after our defeat against Huron and we talked to them about playing for a championship this Friday,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We do have some plays that have had some tournament success.  Obviously, Trey (Paxton) has been a four year player.  Max (Dawson) came off the bench last year in our district title game.  So, they have played in some bigger tournament games in their career.  They know defense and rebounding is very important in the tournament.  It just seems like the team that can make more stops and control possessions have more success in the tournament.”

          Willard (13-9) meets Woodmore (5-18) on Friday night at Hopewell-Loudon.  The Wildcats got past Van Buren (61-58) in overtime on Tuesday night in semifinal play.  Woodmore finished at the bottom of the standings in the Northern Buckeye Conference.

          Bedingfield says they have a couple of kids that stick out.  “They do a pretty decent job of sharing the basketball.  They are not really one player drive.  The Miller kid is their best player.  He averages 10 a game.  He makes some athletic drives and moves.  The other night we watched them play Van Buren and the Perkins kid was open quite a few times and hit six out of seven threes, so they are very capable,” he said.

          Bedingfield believes transition will be huge in the game.  He says they have to get down the floor and stop Woodmore from doing it.  “We have to limit their transition.  When they get out in transition they are better than when they are bringing it down and running sets.  They don’t run a lot, but they are able to space you and share the ball.  They are a very unselfish team.  Defensively, they run a lot of zone, which is something we don’t see a ton of with our schedule.  It is something where we will have to try and beat the zone down the floor.  We really want to pick up the pace against them and try and force them into being uncomfortable,” said Bedingfield.

Published 2/24/22

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Willard Needs Ball Movement

          Willard has a chance to be a spoiler on Friday night.  They play at Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division co-leader Huron Friday night.

          If they beat the Tigers, it could cost them the division title.

          The Flashes have won their last two beating Edison (75-47) in a Bay Division game last Friday and Wynford (84-63) in a non-conference game on Tuesday.

          Coach Joe Bedingfield says that certainly beats losing.  “Anytime you can start to win this time of year that a good thing.  You are not baking into the tournament.  Sometimes in years past you have been on a losing streak and that is not what you want to do at this time of the year.  Winning a couple in a row a is a good sign.  The kids did what they needed to do to secure those two victories and we are happy with those,” he said.

          Willard (13-8,4-5) plays at Huron (17-2,8-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night.  Huron demolished Sandusky Perkins (61-24) on Tuesday night in a crossover game in the “SBC”.

          Bedingfield says they are balanced and hard to guard.  “What is really good about them is they have Dylan Hohler and he is player of the year in division II in district six.  He has some players around him, it’s not just him.  You just can’t key on him, they have good balance.  The (Joey) Shade kid is shooting the ball really well.  Fischer and Rager were a lot better than I thought they first time we played them and he is pretty quick with the ball.  They do a good job of spreading you out and sharing the basketball.  I think (coach) Booby (James) has done a good job this year.  It’s a really balanced team.  It’s going to be a tough one, especially at their place,” said Bedingfield.