Fall seasons provide plenty to savor

JOE SCALZO

A few weeks ago, I was covering a Division II district volleyball semifinal at Boardman High School when a proud grandfather introduced himself and passed along a story idea about his granddaughters.

I nodded, told him I thought it was a good idea and then gave my standard answer, “I wish we could write more about every sport.”

He smiled, waved his arm at the (slightly sparse) crowd and said, “Well, heck, this is just the line at the concession stand at a football game.”

Two things:

First, I’m being sincere when I say I wish we could write more about every sport. Unfortunately for non-football teams in the fall, they have two things going against them: they’re not football teams and our Ohio coverage area extends to about 45 schools over three counties. So, it sometimes feels like I’m stepping over three stories just to get to the one I’m writing about.

Second, I really appreciated that fan’s perspective. It helps make up for the ones who shout at you on the sidelines before Mooney-Poland football games to “get your facts right.”

(This is a hypothetical example, of course.)

I mention all this because today is Thanksgiving, and I’m grateful to have had this job for the past 81‚Ñ2 years. And fans like that one make it even more rewarding.

So, to all the readers and advertisers who stick with us, even when we miss out on good stories involving volleyball players, I say this: Thanks.

OK, enough sentimental stuff.

Best game

Mooney-Ursuline. The Cardinals had the best team I saw this season, but the Irish were the better team that night, even in defeat.

That game had everything — huge momentum swings, big plays, strange calls (like a touchdown that got called back after the two-point conversion) and a big stand by Mooney at the finish.

That game, and Boardman-Mooney, were the two games where you could feel each team giving everything on every play. You can’t necessarily throw the records out in rivalry games — I think that’s a ridiculous notion, by the way — but when the teams are close, it usually makes for a good game.

Best T-shirt

Field volleyball: “You can hit on us, but you can’t score.”

If I ever have a daughter — and I’ve already told my wife we’re only having sons — I’m going to force her to wear that shirt from ages 13-25.

Twelve favorite football players to watch:

Mooney RB Braylon Heard (gets from first to fourth gear faster than just about anyone I’ve ever seen), Poland WR Darius Patton (as polished a receiver as I’ve seen in high school football), Boardman WR Chase Hammond (even Mooney’s defense couldn’t do anything with him), Ursuline RB Allen Jones (a tremendous blend of balance, quickness, power, vision and speed), McDonald safety Devin Bansberg (had the two best hits I saw all season, both against Wellsville, both on receivers trying to catch a pass over the middle), Girard WR Landon Smith (a really fun player on a really fun team), Mooney LB Mark Brandenstein (always around the ball), Poland QB Colin Reardon (a sophomore who played like a senior all year), Fitch QB Jon Ballard (played as well as a high school quarterback can play in a win over Canton McKinley), Canfield DB Kyle Vaclav (who made two game-changing plays against Poland) and Springfield RB Jim Zubick (how can you not like a 5-foot-6 kid who makes that many big plays?) and Howland RB Deveon Smith (man alive, that freshman is going to be really good in three years).

Five favorite non-football players to watch

Salem senior volleyball Amy Scullion (the second-best female athlete I’ve covered, behind Boardman’s Amber Bland), Hubbard senior volleyball player Jackie Carlisle (who nearly went toe-to-toe with Scullion in the district final), McDonald freshman cross country runner Patrick Kunkel (a freshman who was as good as any senior I saw this year), Boardman senior runner Sam Deskin (who wasn’t himself at the regional meet, but whose sub-16 minute performance at the Suburban League championships was pretty stinking impressive) and Maplewood junior runner Krystal Williams (who slogged through the Trumbull Fairgrounds mud en route to a district title).

I only saw one soccer game, and I didn’t see any tennis or golf. Sorry.

Five football players I wish I’d seen

Salem QB Trent Toothman, Salem WR Ben Eisel, Lakeview RB Te Elias, Crestview QB Carter Hill and Western Reserve QB Shane Ewing.

Five favorite athletes to interview

Campbell WR/DB Chris Copeland, Poland RB/DB Luke Wollet, Mooney DB Donald D’Alesio, Mooney OL Eric Starr and Brookfield junior runner Angie Kirila.

Five favorite coaches to interview

Salem volleyball coach Don Conser (who is a less grouchy and equally honest version of former Warren Harding football coach Thom McDaniels), McDonald cross country coach Chris Rupe (who speaks in paragraphs, not sentences), Columbiana football coach Bob Spaite (incapable of uttering a dull sentence), Poland football coach Mark Brungard (although he’s nowhere near as good as his offensive line coach, Paul Hulea) and Mooney assistant Chris Amill (who is more interesting, and more accessible, than the Cardinals’ head coach, P.J. Fecko).

The five quotes I loved the most

- The first is from Conser following Salem’s loss in the regional semifinals.

And lest anyone think he was baited into this answer, here is the question that provoked this response: “Coach, your thoughts on the match?”

“My mother always told me if I didn’t have anything good to say about the officials, then I shouldn’t say it,” said Conser, who proceeded to ignore that advice. “I thought the up official was good, I thought the down official was good. I thought the line judge needed new glasses.”

- Canfield safety Blake Jackson, on trying to sack Aurora quarterback Ty Watson:

“I just wanted to get him and just ... I don’t want to say kill him, but I wanted to definitely knock him out.”

(This reminded me of a Simpsons quote, where Mike Tyson-clone Drederick Tatum is set to fight Homer: “I think Homer Simpson is a good man. I like him. I have nothing against him. But I will definitely make orphans of his children.”)

- Spaite, after a 20-0 win over South Range that didn’t start so smooth:

“We had what we refer to as a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting,” he said. “Honestly, it didn’t take very long. I pointed out several things that had to change in the second half and they listened. I was blunt, but I was proud of the way they took the criticism and made the corrections.”

- Brungard, on Akron Hoban calling a timeout before Kyle Filicky (a trumpet player in the marching band) attempted a game-winning field goal in the playoffs:

“I got into the huddle over there and said, ‘Guys, they don’t understand. You can’t ice a trumpet player,’” said Bulldogs coach Mark Brungard.

- Ursuline football coach Dan Reardon, whose team didn’t play its first home game until Week 7:

“Our North American road tour has come to an end. Friday is our Senior Night and our home opener. That’s got to be some sort of record.”

X Joe Scalzo covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write to him at scalzo@vindy.com.