OHSAA Playoffs Week 1

Sports Fans, it is Playoff Time for High School Football in the state of Ohio. Tonight, starts the 5-game second season to determine a state champion in six divisions. I have to say from experience both as a player and a coach that there is no feeling better than preparing for a state playoff game. You take extra time on every detail, run each play more, and study film constantly. Game day for a playoff game is a different feel. The butterflies in your stomach move a little quicker and you're more nervous than your first game. I wouldn't trade it for the world and I will be missing it this year as for the first time since 2000, the Brunswick Blue Devils will be sitting this postseason out.

However, there are 192 teams, 32 in each division, 8 in each region that being their title chase this weekend. Divisions II, IV, and VI begin tonight, whereas Division I, III, and V start tomorrow night. Regional Quarterfinal games are played at the higher seeds home field, with each game until the State Championship hosted at neutral sites. State Finals games are played at both Canton's Fawcett Stadium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the legendary Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. I have seen three state championship games in person: Brunswick's loss to St. Ignatius in the 1995 D-I State Championship in Massillon, Mogadore's 2002 D-VI win in Canton, and Maple Heights' loss to Cincinnati Winton Woods in last year D-II Title Game. There is an unbeliveable feeling being in the stadium for State Title game especially here in Ohio where high school football reigns supreme.

That said, I want to look at some local matchups this week and share my thoughts. For this round, I will choose selected local games. As the tournament progress, I will look at statewide matchups. And away we go.....

Division I, Region 1

#8 Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees (7-3) @ #1 Solon Comets (10-0)

The Comets steamrolled through the Northeast Ohio Conference's Valley Division, save for a last second miracle last week against the Strongsville Mustangs. The Bees are led by Tom Tupa Jr. the son of former NFL Punter, Tom Tupa. They went 7-3 and qualified out of the Southwest Conference. I like Solon in this matchup.

#5 Willoughby South Rebels (9-1) @ #4 Austintown-Fitch Falcons (9-1)

Willoughby South runs a trememdous spread offense that has seen QB Ray Russ throw for 41 TDs. Austintown-Fitch is a qualifier from the rugged Federal League, which has mulitple playoff qualifiers. I like Willoughby to be able to outscore the Falcons and advance.

#6 Mentor Cardinals (7-3) @ #3 Lakewood St. Edward Eagles (10-0)

This is rematch of St. Ed's 35-28 win in the season opener at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mentor won the Lake Erie League's Lake Division in their final season before heading over to the NOC Valley Division. St. Ed's went all over the state of Ohio gaining wins against Cincinatti's St. Xavier, Youngstown's Cardinal Mooney and their Holy War opponent St. Ignatius. St. Ed's is huge on the offensive line and can run and pass. Mentor continues to succeed, this year relying more on the run than in years past. It's a tough one, but I like St. Ed's here.

#7 Warren Harding Raiders (8-2) @ #2 Cleveland Glenville Tarblooders

This is an intriguing matchup. Glenville plays tough non-conference opponents in the first three weeks to make up for a softer Senate Athletic League schedule. Warren Harding competes with Mentor and other quality opponents in the LEL Lake Division. Something's gotta give when Warren Harding's consistent performances take on a Glenville team who's glided through the last 7 games. Glenville has talent oozing from all aspects of offense and defense. It will take a quarter or two for the Tarblooders to get going, but I like them to win this game over the Raiders.

Division I, Region 2

#8 Medina Battling Bees (8-2) @ #1 Canton McKinley Bulldogs (8-2)

Medina squeaked into the playoffs by defeating Medina County rival Brunswick last week 14-13. This is their second playoff berth in school history, the other year being 2006. The Battling Bees compete in the very tough NOC Valley Division and suffered setbacks only to Solon and Strongsville. Canton McKinley is coming off of a win against their rival Massillon Washington Tigers and another successful Federal League campaign. The Bulldogs are always tough in the playoffs, and I believe they will overwhelm Medina who will be getting back all-purpose threat Justin Letts for this game.

#7 Twinsburg Tigers (9-1) @ #2 Sylvania Southview Cougars (10-0)

Twinsburg won the NOC River Division, splitting with Hudson. QB Aaron Macer leads the attach going up to Lucas County to take on the undefeated Cougars. Admittedly I do not know much about Southview. I've seen Twinsburg play, but they also had a setback against Hudson. I'll go with chalk here and take the Cougars, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Tigers win.

#6 Massillon Washington Tigers (7-3) @ #3 Toledo Whitmer Panthers (9-1)

Massillon is traditionally strong and Whitmer has been successful in recent seasons. I'll take Massillon here in an upset.

#5 Fremont Ross Little Giants (9-1)@ #4 Toledo St. John Jesuit Titans (9-1)

This should be quite the battle between these two teams. I'll take the Titans over the alma mater of former Heisman Trophy Winner Charles Woodson.

Division II, Region 5

#8 Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders (8-2) @ #1 Tallmadge Blue Devils (10-0)

The Suburban League's Tallmadge takes out the Riders at home.

#5 Aurora Greenmen (8-2) @ #4 Ashland Arrows (8-2)

Aurora brings their punishing run game against the aerial assualt of the Arrows. I like the Greenmen in an upset.

#7 Kenston Bombers (8-2) @ #2 Lake Catholic Cougars (9-1)

It's tough to bet against the Cougars, led by RB Richie Sanders. The Bombers sprung an upset in Week 10 to get in, but will not be able to do it twice in a row.

#6 Warren Howland Tigers (10-0) @ #3 Copley Indians (9-1)

The undefeated Tigers travel to the Suburban Leauge's Copley Indians. I don't know much about either team, so I like Copley here.

Division II, Region 6

#8 Sandusky Blue Streaks (6-4) @ #1 Avon Eagles (10-0)

This is a tough matchup for the Eagles, but their air attack should be able to hold off the Blue Streaks, returning to the playoffs after a long hiatus.

#7 Maumee Panthers (7-3) @ #2 Avon Lake Shoremen (8-2)

Avon Lake is the champion of the Southwest Conference and sports a rugged running game in addition to a hard-hitting defense. I like them over the Panthers.

#6 Cleveland John. F. Kennedy Eagles (7-3) @ #3 Olmsted Falls Bulldogs (7-3)

This is the Eagles' first OHSAA playoff game ever. Coming out of the Senate Athletic League, Cleveland JFK comes into this match up against the perennial power Olmsted Falls. The Bulldogs always play tough defense, and I anticipate that to end the dream season of JFK.

#5 Maple Heights Mustangs (10-0) @ #4 Toledo Central Catholic Fighting Irish (8-2)

Maple Heights returned all of their best skill players from last year's State Runner-up teams, which included a victory against the Fighting Irish in last year's Regional Semifinals. QB Shaq Washington, RB Devonte Ransom and WR Andre Stubbs roll helped the Mustangs roll through the LEL Erie Division. They haven't played the competition that Central Catholic has, but that talent can outplay most other teams. I like the Mustangs here.

Other Local Games

D3 Region 9 - #1 Padua Franciscan Bruins over #8 Hunting Valley University School Preppers

D4 Region 13 - #8 Perry Pirates over #1 Akron Manchester Panthers

#2 Chagrin Falls Tigers over #7 Garrettsville Garfield G-Men

D5 Region 17 - #2 Kirtland Hornets over #7 Independence Blue Devils

#3 Cuyahoga Heights Redskins over #6 Hanoverton United Golden Eagles

D5 Region 18 - #6 Columbia Station Columbia Raiders over #3 Hamler Patrick Henry Patriots

D6 Region 21 - #2 Mogadore Wildcats over #7 New Washington Buckeye Central Bucks

Good Luck to All Teams.Let me know what you think of the playoffs, my picks, or your favorite memory from the playoffs!

Reveling in Radio Broadcasting

Hello sports fans, my name is Ed Dick and I will be throwing in my proverbial two cents here with Rob about local high school, Cleveland, and national sports. I want to get right to it with some thought about our Cleveland sports commentators.

I read in today's Plain Dealer an article written by the well-respected Cleveland journalist Terry Pluto. The article talks about Cleveland Cavaliers radio broadcaster Joe Tait's upcoming surgery, which has been keeping Tait out of action in what is to be his final season handling the radio duties for the Cavs. It got me to thinking about what games are going to sound like without Tait broadcasting. He has been the radio voice of the Cavs my entire life, and save for one season, the entire existence of the franchise itself.

It got me to thinking about the play of Cleveland's Big Three in the 80s, Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance and Mark Price. Then you had the Gund Arena era starting with Terrell Brandon, Chris Mills, Bobby Phills (Rest in Peace) of the mid-90s, up through the much maligned Shawn Kemp years. We had our dark period in the late 90s to early 2000s with Zydrunas Illgauskas hurting his foot every season, Wrong-Way Ricky Davis fabricating triple-doubles and putting the ball in the hands of Smush Parker, Darius Miles and Lamond Murray. Finally we broke through with the LeBron Sweepstakes and enjoyed 7 tremendous seasons that saw the Cavs' first NBA Finals appearance. Through it all, there has been one constant: Joe Tait.

"(Insert Player's Name) WHAM with a right hand!", "Three-ball, GOT IT", "He hit it", and the famous "Over the timeline, into the fortcourt". These saying have been replicated but never duplicated by anyone else. When I was younger and the Cavs were on the West Coast, Joe Tait was there into the late hours of the night. Whenever I'm driving to the store or to a friend's house to watch the game, Tait was in the passenger seat. Friends of mine that are from Cleveland now living elsewhere muse about how jealous they are that we can still listen to our favorite sayings. There's one thing us Cavs fans had to look forward to each season, and that was another 82+ games of Joe Tait describing the game of basketball to us better than any other city's radio.

To us who were Cavs fans from our youth, we were raised by Joe Tait in the sports sense. Now that we are all adults, it's harder to realize that one day he'll be off the air because he's been apart of our lives for so long. Those of you who are Cleveland Indians fans may feel the same way about Tribe radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton, and the late Nev Chandler who was the Browns' radio broadcaster in the late 80s. I was a very young Browns fan at the time, but I still remember his trademark "To the ten, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Touchdown Browns!" My grandfather would turn down the TV so we could listen to Chandler describe what we were watching.

You feel a better sense of loyalty to radio broadcasters because they are always available. Some games are not televised, so you don't have much of a choice but to listen to the radio. It's up to the radio broadcaster to paint that sweet scene of the sports venue, to the colors and trim of the players' uniforms, even describing which side a team is moving based on your radio dial. You always know the score and the time, as well as random stats that fill slow spots in the game. And we in Cleveland have been lucky enough to enjoy the best of the best with Joe Tait.

The Cavs have been covered on the radio thus far with Mike Snyder and former center Jim Chones. They have done a good job, but it's not what I'm used to hearing. However, I believe it is better that we get a taste of life without Tait now before he's actually gone. When he hopefully returns from a successful surgery, we'll be able to take it in for one last time. We'll be able to say our last goodbyes to him like he will to us and provide us with our closure. As is the case with most good things in life, never take anything for granted.

In the final words of the Cavs postgame radio show, I close with Tait's final line: "Have a good night, Everybody."

Cavaliers win opener versus Celtics 95-87.

Its only the first game of the season, but the Cleveland Cavaliers gave fans hope for this upcoming season.  Defeating the Celtics 95-87 in a hard fought, team effort.  Antawn Jamison after the win said "This win is for the city. It was for the fans to let them know the Cavs will survive and this is a place where you can still watch good basketball. And most of all, you can watch a team that wins.” 

Boobie Gibson after the Cavs 95-87 win  in the opener.

JJ Hickson led the Cavs with 21 points, Daniel Gibson pitched in with 16 points, and made several clutch shots to keep the Cavaliers close.  At half Cleveland trailed 47-46, and trailed in the third quarter by as many as 13 points.  The Cavaliers would not give up, outscoring the Celtics 27-14 in the fourth quarter.  That was the difference in the game, and showed this Cavaliers team can close a game out against the best. Shaq admitted maybe they did take this Cavaliers team to lightly.  If this blue collar, hard working, team effort can continue all year, it is going to be a fun year.  Fans should embrace this team, and support them all year.  Byron Scott also did a great job down the stretch.  When Cleveland was making mistakes he would immediately call timeout to regain control of his team.  Out of the timeout you should have noticed a positive response from the players.  


It was fun to watch.  Now what do you fans think?  Can they continue to play like this?  Email the show at primetimesports2010@gmail.com.


Next Game- Prediction: Cavs 90 Raptors 83.

Local Sports Spotlight Times

The new Local Sports Spotlight show will air in Brunswick and Brunswick Hills this Saturday at : 12:30pm, 9:30am, Noon, and 7pm.  We cover the Northeast Ohio Conference, the Suburban Conference, High School Playoff picture, and much much more!

Coming in mid-to late November we sit down with Brunswick basketball coach Joe Mackey about the upcoming season and also have a chance to sit down with West Virginia recruit Pat Forsythe .  All coming up on Local Sports Spotlight!

If you have any stories or ideas email us at primetimesports2010@gmail.com.