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Bracketology: Few surprises
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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McDonald's Matthias Tayala (24) drives to the net during a game at Western Reserve High School on Friday evening.
Special to the Vindicator
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LaBrae's Peyton Aldridge (10) tries to score as Cody Dillon (10) plays tight defense during their game Tuesday evening.
Special to the Vindicator
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Struthers' Adam Ryczaj (40) looks for help as Colin Reardon (10) and Anthony Machi (2) play defense during their game Wednesday night.
McDonald, Maplewood, Struthers and LaBrae receive No. 1 seeds in OHSAA boys basketball tournament draws
By Jon Moffett
HOWLAND
Jeff Rasile sat at a small desk with his chin resting on his hands, paying careful attention to the person at the front of the classroom. Every now and then he’d raise his hand and turn in a piece of paper.
Oh, to be a student again.
But on Sunday, Rasile was the teacher. The McDonald coach and his peers were present at Howland High as they drew seeds for the OHSAA boys basketball tournament at the end of the month.
And Rasile was at the head of the class.
Rasile’s undefeated Blue Devils were voted the No. 1 seed in the Division IV tournament draw. McDonald was one of four area teams to receive the No. 1 seed in their respective brackets. Also earning the top slot for the tournaments were the Struthers, Maplewood and LaBrae teams.
The tournament will begin Feb. 28 and last through the state tournament March 24-26 in Columbus.
Eighteen sites will host Northeast district games, including Boardman, Howland, Salem, Struthers and Warren Harding. Games will be played at the respective high schools.
Rasile said it was an honor to again earn the top seed, as the team has done for the past several years, and noted other schools from the Inter-Tri County League’s Tier Two rounded out the other top five spots.
“It speaks volumes to our conference to have the top six teams be from the ITCL’s lower tier,” he said. “It’s been a grueling year. But I think it speaks volumes to the competition level we have in this conference.”
That competition hasn’t been able to get the best of the Blue Devils. McDonald sits alone atop the conference standings with a flawless 15-0 record — including an 11-0 mark in the league.
“We don’t view it as the No. 1 seed. We just want to play games,” Rasile said. “We want competition and that’s what my kids expect. We want to play the best teams out there and we want to beat the best teams out there.
“But it is an accomplishment to be the No. 1 seed,” he added. “We’re excited about that and just getting the opportunity to get on the board and do some things.”
What makes Rasile even more appreciative of the nod is that his peers are the ones who voted for it. The coaches from each team voted on how to seed the bracket.
“It’s a pride factor with the ITCL right now,” Rasile said. “Sometimes we get criticized for a lack of competition, but we’re probably one of the strongest Div. IV teams in the area. And when you have the top six teams coming from your conference, it says something.”
Struthers coach Joe Savkok said he hadn’t been in a school setting like that for about 20 years —except for his annual trips to the draw.
But the Wildcats (16-1, 7-0 All-American Conference White Tier) also got straight A’s, earning the top seed in the Div. II bracket to be played at Boardman. Savko said the team, which got the No. 2 seed last year, was happy that a year of hard work and success was being noticed around the league.
“I’m happy for the kids, because they are the ones who earned the respect,” he said. “They’re the ones who came in during the summer and worked hard. So they’ve built up their reputation and it’s nice for them to be able to enjoy it.”
While many of the coaches probably could have found a better way to spend their Sunday afternoon, Savko said it isn’t all bad. And hearing the opinions of outside schools can tell him a lot about his own program.
“It’s all part of the gig [of being a coach],” he said. “But it’s interesting to see sometimes. We have some teams from the western part of the county and from Stark County. So it’s just interesting to see what kind of competition they’ve played over there. You’re not really all familiar with it, and you get to see it in this process.”
Both Rasile and Savko said the voting went pretty much how they had envisioned it and with very few surprises.
“If I could have drawn it up before I came in here, I would have drawn it up pretty much just like that,” Rasile said.
LaBrae earned the top spot in the Div. III tournament at Howland. The Vikings (15-1, 6-0 All-American Conference Blue Tier) were also a unanimous selection for the top spot. Maplewood (10-7) earned the top spot in the Div. IV bracket which will be played at Warren Harding.
Other area schools earning top-four seeds for the tournament were Warren Harding (2, Div. I, Solon), Poland (2, Div. II, Boardman), Newton Falls (2, Div. III, Howland), Brookfield (3, Div. III, Howland), Ursuline (2, Div. III, Salem), East Palestine (3, Div. III, Salem), Southern (2, Div. IV, Struthers), Wellsville (3, Div. IV Struthers), Sebring (4, Div. IV Struthers) and Warren JFK (4, Div. IV, Warren Harding).
Winners of the Div. II bracket at Boardman will advance to the regional bracket at the Canton Civic Center. Divisions III and IV will advance to the Canton Fieldhouse.