Cards stacked against Liberty

Canfield advanced to Saturday's championship with a 64-48 victory.
BOARDMAN -- With seven minutes remaining in the third quarter of Wednesday's game, the Liberty High student section started cheering as junior Ed Kershaw trotted out of the locker room and took a seat on the Leopards' bench.
Kershaw, who missed the Leopards' first tournament game with a medical condition, had driven straight from a Cleveland hospital to the game after getting medical clearance to play. With six minutes to go in the quarter, Liberty coach Burt Stellers put him in and Kershaw immediately led the Leopards on an 11-4 run.
"They're a totally different team with him in there," Canfield coach John Cullen said. "I give him a lot of credit for playing. I don't know if I would have done that."
It was pretty dramatic stuff. Unfortunately for Liberty fans, the Leopards entered the quarter trailing by 13. And, even more unfortunately, they finished the quarter trailing by 11.
"This was one of those games where you're walking on eggshells while they're making a run," said Cullen. "If you're not a good team, you lose these types of games."
Using Cullen's logic, the Cardinals must be a good team. Canfield's defense clamped down on Kershaw in the fourth quarter and the Cardinals showed plenty of poise down the stretch to win 64-48 in a Division II district semifinal at Boardman High School.
Advance to final
The Cardinals will play the winner of tonight's Salem-Poland game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
"Canfield played great tonight," said Liberty coach Burt Stellers. "They put a lot of pressure on our shooters and we just couldn't buy one in the first half. Coach Cullen and those kids deserve all the credit."
Liberty missed its first 15 shots from the field to fall behind 17-2 early in the second quarter. Kershaw, who was diagnosed with asthma after doctors found air around the lining of his heart, gave the Leopards a lift in the second half, but Liberty never got closer than five points.
"Ed's a good player," said Canfield junior Troy Gessner. "He gave them a spark. We just started to pick up our intensity on offense and defense and hit some free throws down the stretch."
Off the bench
Gessner, a 6-foot-7 center, came off the bench to score 13 points and grab nine rebounds.
"Troy did a huge job," said Cullen. "He's one of those guys who gets a new toy at Christmas and he's just started to read the directions. At 6-7, he's hard to stop, but he's just now figuring things out."
Senior Jordan Ferns had 13 points and six rebounds and Kyle Melewski had 11 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Cardinals, who made 13-of-19 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Kershaw finished with 16 points and Mychal Doblanski added 12 for the Leopards (16-6), who exceeded expectations this season after losing nine of their top 10 players.
Fans want Poland
Canfield isn't sure who they will play, but there's little question who the fans want. In the closing minutes, Canfield's student section began chanting, "Bring on Poland!"
Cullen said he didn't notice the chants, but Salem coach Jeff Brink sure did. When told the Cardinal fans were underestimating his team, he smiled and said, "Yes they are."
Cullen tried his best to stay neutral, but admitted, 'With Poland, it's something extra special."
Gessner had the same problem, saying that playing Poland is a "dream come true."
"We've just got to work hard to get a win," he said.
And if you're playing Salem?
"Oh," he said. "Um, just put that whoever wins, it's a dream come true."