Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
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Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wayne’s Trice commits to Michigan St.
Travis Trice II, a 6-foot, 164-pound senior point guard from Wayne High School, gave a verbal commitment to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on Wednesday.
Trice offered his commitment almost immediately following MSU’s scholarship offer. He received an additional scholarship offer from Minnesota on Tuesday night and had offers from, among others, Dayton, Richmond, Penn State, Creighton, Toledo and Northern Iowa.
The Trice family visited Michigan State on Tuesday. Wayne coach Travis Trice said Izzo told his son he expects him to play significantly as a freshman.
“I took it as hard work pays off and I’m a hard worker,” Trice told the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal. “Throughout the whole day I (thought) this is too good to be true. … I got to spend time with the (players) and watched them work out. I was like ‘Man, I could see myself here.’ ”
Trice averaged 22.1 points, 4.9 assists and 4.2 steals for Wayne last season and also shot 43 percent from 3-point range. Trice has played on the AAU Indiana Elite since his freshman year, alongside 5-star forward Brandon Dawson of Gary, Ind., who also committed to the Spartans on Wednesday.
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Football preview: Valley View
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
VALLEY VIEW (D-IV, Region 16)
League: SWBL Southwestern
Coach: Jay Niswonger (27 years)
2009 record: 4-2, 7-4
Key returners:
Ben Copher, sr., OL
Brian Day, jr., OL
Kenny Duff, soph., DB
Brandon Fox, sr., DB
Chris Lykins, jr., DB
Kyle Pohl, sr., QB.
Extra points:
The Spartans return eight starters on offense and four on defense (all in the secondary). And Niswonger will take it. Valley View lost 20 of 22 starters going into the 2009 season.
Speedy running back Jake Jarbo transferred from Preble Shawnee and brings three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to an already potent offense.
“Jake is definitely a good addition, but he’s an unknown quantity because he’s still learning a lot of things. We won’t know until next week (when hitting is allowed) what he can or can not do,” Niswonger said.
Pohl, who gave a verbal commitment to play his college football at Akron, returns to lead an offense that averaged 27 points.
“We’ve never really had a problem putting up points,” Niswonger said.
The Spartans might count on that offense early. A defense that allowed 20 points per game needs to replace its entire front eight. That’s something new for the veteran coach.
“Usually you have a couple spots to replace in each of the areas line defensive line or linebackers, but usually not your front seven or eight,” he said.
Still, league coaches are giving Valley View front-runner status along with defending champ Eaton in the Southwestern Division. Valley View tied for second in the division with Franklin in 2009.
“I don’t take much stock in the preseason polls and never have. There’s only one team I’m concerned with and that’s my squad,” Niswonger said.
Of their three regular-season losses in 2009, two of them came by 5 and 6 points. The fourth loss came in the first round of the playoffs, the Spartans’ 16th trip in the past 18 seasons, in a 46-27 loss to Kenton.
Speaking of playoffs, count Niswonger as a fan of the Ohio High School Athletic Association awarding Columbus the state finals in 2014 and 2015, meaning a chance to play at Ohio Stadium.
“I’ve been to Massillon three times with the kids. My question to the kids around here and the coaches is, do they really embellish the tradition or would you like to play in the ’Shoe? All the kids know where the Horseshoe is at. To say I played in the Horseshoe my last game, I think it’s a little bit different than saying I went to Stark County,” he said.
“We really wanted to try and get everything in Columbus, but the OHSAA did a good job trying to keep peace with everybody. I think they did a good job for the kids.”
VALLEY VIEW
Fri., Aug. 27 at Dunbar (Welcome Stadium)
Fri., Sept. 3 at Indian Hill
Fri., Sept. 10 Bishop Fenwick
Fri., Sept. 17 Oakwood
Fri., Sept. 24 Monroe
Fri., Oct. 1 Bellbrook
Fri., Oct. 8 at Franklin
Fri., Oct. 15 at Carlisle
Fri., Oct. 22 Eaton
Fri., Oct. 29 at Brookville
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Football preview: Dunbar
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
DUNBAR (D-III, Region 12)
League: Dayton City League
Coach: James Lacking (6 years)
2009 record: 3-1, 5-5
Key returners:
Ralpheal Berry, sr., WR/DB
Darold Kelly, sr., RB/DB
Austin Williams, sr., OL/DL
Roger Williamson, sr., WR/DB
James Wright, sr, RB
Extra points:
Discussion about Dunbar’s talent begins with Williamson, one of the most highly recruited Dayton City League players in recent years.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver and defensive back is getting plenty of Bowl Championship Series conference attention and will be a major factor in Dunbar’s success this season.
“First of all, he has great character, and he does all the academic things, and that’s before we talk about football,” Lacking said. “He’s also athletic as hell, and he has a good work ethic on the field and off the field. What more can you ask?”
Williamson is the leader of a Dunbar team that took a hit last season when several skilled players transferred to Marshall. But Lacking said other strong players return to provide optimism about this season.
One of those is featured running back Wright, a 5-6, 175-pounder who will return as the starter.
“He’s just a hard runner, and he reads the zone well,” Lacking said. “He has great vision, and he’s a good athlete. He would’ve wrestled if we had a team last season, so he can do a lot of things.”
The transfers who left for Marshall gave several younger players more opportunities, Lacking said, which should pay off this season with more experience. Williamson will lead that group Lacking hopes can contend with Marshall, the defending city league champion.
“We expect him to do pretty much what he’s been doing,” Lacking said, “intercepting balls and scoring touchdowns.”
DUNBAR
Fri., Aug. 27 Valley View
Fri., Sept. 3 at Trotwood-Madison
Sat., Sept. 11 Whetstone
Fri., Sept. 17 at Belmont
Fri., Sept. 24 at Findlay
Fri., Oct. 8 Ponitz Tech
Sat., Oct. 16 at Cincinnati Taft
Fri., Oct. 22 Marshall
Sat., Oct. 29 at Meadowdale
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Football preview: Beavercreek
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
BEAVERCREEK (D-I, Region 4)
League: GWOC Central
Coach: Scott Clodfelter (7 years; 1 year at Dixie)
2009 record: 0-5, 4-6
Key returners:
Nathan Bartell, sr., OL
Evan Desjardins, sr., DB
Joe Desjardins, sr., LB
Matt Ringle, jr., DL
Sam Shaeffer, sr., DB/RET
Brandon Smith, sr., LB
Extra points:
The Beavers are hoping to do something they haven’t done the last two seasons: win a GWOC Central game. The ‘08 season was particularly stinging after an uplifting 5-0 start was deflated with an 0-5 Central finish. Only an OT loss to Fairborn in ‘09 prevented the Beavers from duplicating the previous effort.
That impressive first-half run might be out of reach this season. Lightweight season opener Stebbins and its 30-game losing streak has been replaced with a trip to Princeton. After hosting longtime neighboring rival Carroll, the Beavers are then at Trotwood-Madison, which replaces Sidney in Week 3.
“Any way we can get (a Central Division win), we’ll take it,” Clodfelter said. “We’ve been close; we’ve almost had everybody, but we didn’t. That’s nice goal, to win a game in the division.”
The defense, led by the Desjardins brothers, is loaded with holdovers from a unit that ranked third overall in the GWOC last season. But as good as that sounds, it’s just the opposite on offense, where the Beavers graduated nine starters.
“(Defense) is the strength of our team, and we’re hoping they can carry us a little bit,” said Clodfelter.
The Princeton game is a one-year deal and will be replaced by Fairfield in 2011.
BEAVERCREEK
Fri., Aug. 27 at Princeton
Fri., Sept. 3 Carroll
Fri., Sept. 10 at Trotwood-Madison
Fri., Sept. 17 Xenia
Fri., Sept. 24 at Troy
Fri., Oct. 1 at Northmont
Fri., Oct. 8 at Wayne
Fri., Oct. 15 Springfield
Fri., Oct. 22 at Fairmont
Fri., Oct. 29 Centerville
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