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Harding, Poland seeking district success
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Poland’s George Chammas puts in a layup in Friday’s game against Girard. The Bulldogs earned the top seed in Division II of the Boardman District.
Springfield, LaBrae also have high hopes
By Steve ruman
In Ohio, there are 801 high schools which participate in basketball.
Seven-hundred-ninety-seven teams will end their season with a loss.
Four others will capture state titles in the Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason tournament. The month-long event concludes March 23 in Columbus when champions will be crowned in four divisions.
Locally, 50 teams in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties hit the tournament trail at seven locations.
Seven of the area’s biggest schools will compete at the Alliance Division I District. Warren Harding (fourth-seed) is the highest seed of the bunch. The Raiders, along with Springfield and Struthers, were the only area teams to capture district crowns a year ago.
Harding (13-9) will begin defense of its title by playing tonight’s winner of Boardman versus Youngstown East. Austintown Fitch and Howland also will square off in a first-round game.
In Div. II, Poland (20-2) earned the top seed at the Boardman District, followed by Salem and Niles.
“When you look at our brackets, you quickly realize that there are quite a few teams capable of winning the district,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. “Salem had one heck of a year, and they’re in a very strong league.
“Niles had us on the ropes at our place. Struthers is really coming together,” Grisdale said. “Then you look at teams like Mooney and West Branch, who don’t have the great records but who played brutal schedules.”
In Div. III, the Howland District features eight area teams including the top four seeds (LaBrae, Brookfield, Ursuline and Girard).
LaBrae (19-3) finds itself in a familiar role as the top-seeded team. It marks the third straight year the Vikings have earned the honor; however, they have come up short in each of the past two years.
“We’ve also won three straight league titles, but we’ve yet to win the district, and this group is very hungry,” LaBrae coach Chad Kiser said. “We started to play our best basketball toward the end of the regular season, so hopefully it will carry over.”
There are 13 teams in the Howland District, including nine that LaBrae faced in the regular season.
“They know us, and we know them, so really there is no advantage,” Kiser said. “If anything, you will see lower scoring games because the defenses will know what to expect.”
After winning the Salem District a year ago, Springfield (16-6) is favored to repeat. The Tigers are the top-seeded team in a district which features seven schools from the Inter Tri-County League.
“The league is always competitive, so that carries over to the district,” Sprinfield coach Eric Fender said. “This is probably one of the most well-balanced districts in the area.”
Fender’s biggest worry is the fear of the unknown. The district also includes Akron Manchester (two seed), Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas (three seed) and Canton Central Catholic.
“You never know what these teams will bring to the table, so you have to be ready for everything,” Fender said. “Manchester was 9-3 against Div. II schools. No other teams in our district have any DII teams on their schedules, so that really stands out.”
In Div. IV, six ITLC teams are among the eight area schools in the Struthers District. Top-seeded Wellsville (18-3) will look to dethrone Mogadore, which defeated the Tigers last year in the district final. Mogadore is the two seed, followed by Lowellville and Southern.
The Warren Harding District has 10 teams from Trumbull County, including the area’s lone undefeated team – Bristol (22-0). The Panthers will be challenged by the likes of Windham, McDonald and Maplewood.
“There is a ton of tournament history in this district,” Bristol coach Craig Giesy said. “McDonald recently won the Struthers District year after year. Windham is always a regional contender. Maplewood and Warren JFK have storied histories.”
“There are five or six teams here who, if any one of them win it, no one would be surprised.”