Seven from area earn NEO district honors

Poland’s Ben Umbel shares co-player of the year honors with Robert Wilson of Streetsboro and Alliance’s Terrence Williams.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

Poland senior Ben Umbel was a standout soccer player growing up, but switched to football in middle school. He played wide receiver in eighth grade.

“He had one ball thrown to him all year,” said Bulldogs basketball coach Ken Grisdale. “That wasn’t a whole lot of fun, so he decided to focus on basketball.

“The rest is history.”

Umbel, a 6-foot-3 guard, helped lead the Bulldogs to their first undefeated regular season in school history and the No. 1 ranking in the final Division II Associated Press poll. For his effort, he was named the NEO Inland District co-player of the year on Thursday, sharing the honor with Robert Wilson of Streetsboro and Terrence Williams of Alliance.

“Ben’s very deserving,” said Grisdale. “He’s worked extremely hard. He’s the key to our team and he does so much for us offensively and defensively.”

On the girls side, Canfield senior Kate Popovec, a Pitt recruit who has helped lead the Cardinals into the Division II regional final, was named the Div. II player of the year and Brookfield senior Morgan Bonekovic was named co-player of the year in Div. III.

Popovec has scored more than 1,400 points and 1,100 rebounds, while Bonekovic has scored more than 1,500 points and helped the Warriors win this year’s district title.

Howland’s John Diehl was named Div. I girls coach of the year, and Leetonia’s Kelly Paxson earned the same honor in Div. IV.

Umbel averages 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and seven steals despite playing only 20 minutes per game. He set the school’s single-game steals record with 14 against Salem earlier this year.

“I’ve never seen anyone like him,” Grisdale said.

Umbel was a starter on last year’s team, which lost to Upper Sandusky in the state semifinals. That team was a half-court, defense-oriented squad, while this year’s team is wide-open and offensively-minded. Umbel has played well on both.

“He’s such a good athlete,” Grisdale said. “He’s the type of kid who can flourish in both styles.”

He was joined on the first team by teammate Anthony DeFelice, who also started last year and will finish his career with single-season and career assist records. Grisdale shared coach of the year honors with Alliance’s Larry Kukura.

“Team success is the most important thing, but with team success should come individual honors,” Grisdale, the winningest coach in school history, said. “The team is successful because of good individuals. They put aside their personal stats for the team and that’s why we’ve become a very good team.”

Warren Harding’s Steve Arnold shared top coaching honors in Div. I, while Newton Falls’ Roy Sembach shared coach of the year award in Div. III.