Thursday, January 24, 2008
Looking for a high school event to take in over the next week? Here’s a few suggestions:
WRESTLING AT FITCH
The annual Joshua Hephner Memorial tournament will bring in some of the state’s best teams to the Falcons’ gymnasium Friday and Saturday. It’s a unique format that allows every wrestler to participate in a number of matches, regardless of the outcome. And it’s the last big tournament of the season before the league meets — the EOWL is Feb. 1-2 at Canfield — and sectional.
BASKETBALL RIVALRIES, TAKE 1
Friday night Mooney plays host to Ursuline; earlier this season the Cardinals defeated the Irish by three points. Of course, that game didn’t count in the Steel Valley Conference standings; this one does. Mooney is 2-0 in the SVC and has a showdown looming with Warren Harding Feb. 1. Ursuline is 1-1 in the conference and gets the Raiders a week later.
… TAKE 2
These games may not have as much riding on them, but don’t tell that to the coaches, players and (especially) the fans. Friday night at Columbiana, the Clippers play host to Crestview. Columbiana won the first game between the two this season by 24 points, but the Rebels have reeled off four points in a row and the Clippers, who had been winning by an average of more than 15 points per game, have had three straight games decided by 12 points or less. And, oh yeah, the varsity girls play the night’s opener at 6.
… AND TAKE 3
Tuesday night at the Chevrolet Centre, another doubleheader features two good rivalry games. The opener pits McDonald against Western Reserve in an ITCL clash, followed by Liberty and Girard in a TAC rivalry. The Leopards have had a tough season, but they can still finish in the top half of the conference with a strong run over the final four weeks. Girard’s been playing tough, too, just without too many wins to show for it. The Indians enter the weekend 2-5 in the TAC but three of the losses have been by eight points or less.
FEDERAL LEAGUE HOOPS
Saturday’s Federal League girls basketball semifinals could give real insight into how the Division I district is going to shake out. At 2:30 p.m. Boardman visits Canton McKinley, then at 8, North Canton Hoover plays host to Uniontown Lake. The winners meet Feb. 2 in Alliance for the league title, and, just maybe, three weeks after that for the district crown.