Canfield’s pressure too much for Salem

The Cardinals used a smothering defense and 18 points from senior Mike Podolsky in a 69-46 win over the Quakers.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

Vindicator Correspondent

SALEM — Salem coach Will Klucinec knew exactly what his former coach, John Cullen of Canfield, would throw at his young team.

Klucinec played under Cullen at Canfield and received most of his training as a coach under the tutelage of his former mentor.

“You know what you’re going to get from coach and his team,” said Klucinec after watching the Cards dispose of the Quakers 69-46 Friday night.

“I thought our guys did a lot of good things tonight,” Klucinec said. “But one thing you have to realize is that Canfield has a great basketball program. They have a lot of veteran guys and boy are they physical.

“It showed tonight. It showed what level they are at and what level we are at.”

Canfield (7-2) showed right from the start just how good it can be with all cylinders clicking.

The Cardinals got 18 points from senior Mike Podolsky and used a smothering defense that forced 11 first quarter turnovers and held Salem to just 30 percent shooting from the field.

“They’re a good team,” Cullen said of the Quakers. “Coach Klucinec had his team prepared for that kind of pressure but until you see it it’s hard to handle.

“Salem got better as the game went on but I thought our kids came out with a lot of good defensive energy early and that set the tempo for the game.”

As good as Canfield’s defense was at the start, the Cards only led 12-6 after the first quarter and that had Cullen pleading with his team to get some points heading into the second quarter.

“We’ve only scored in the low 50s in the last few games and that wasn’t good enough,” Cullen said. “We hadn’t been getting that many points in transition and so we tried getting that back and I think we did that somewhat tonight.”

Cullen also said it was nice to welcome back Podolsky to the lineup. He had been averaging almost 21 points per game before serving a two-game suspension for a flagrant foul and ejection in a game with Cardinal Mooney.

“It was like Mike hadn’t missed a beat,” said Cullen. “It was nice to see him transition back into the team as easily as he did.”

Cullen said he was pleased with how his Cards played the last two games, (wins over Canton Glen Oak and Boardman) without the senior leader.

“In a crisis you learn a couple of things,” Cullen said. “You learn that you have more to give than you’ve been giving and you also learn that together you can do anything.”

That’s why the team aspect has served Cullen well in his over 400-win coaching career.

Players that stepped up in Podolsky’s absence continued to play well with the senior back in the lineup.

Dan Campolito and Joe Hoelzel each scored 13 points while Justin Vrabel chipped in with nine and Gene Wollet eight.

Canfield led the Quakers 34 to 22 at the break and put the game away with a 15-2 run at the start of the third quarter.

“I know exactly what John told his players at halftime,” Klucinec said. “Same thing he always said and that is that it is time to stick in the knife and turn it.”

Salem (4-4) got 12 points and eight rebounds from Mike King while sophomore Trent Kenriegh added 10 points.