McDonald, Kennedy in regional matchup

March 14, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

Warren JFK coach Mark Komlanc hopes to have the full support of his family tonight when his Eagles take on McDonald in a Division IV regional semifinal game at Canton Fieldhouse.

It should be noted that Komlanc has a great relationship with all involved. No domestic disputes, no sibling rivalries.

However, it should also be noted that Komlanc is a 1997 McDonald High graduate, and he comes from a family whose roots run deep in McDonald basketball.

In fact, Komlanc began his coaching career with the Blue Devils, where he served under his step-father Ed Dolsak, who at the time guided the Blue Devils program. Komlanc’s sister, Amy Dolsak, is the McDonald girls basketball coach. Sister Emily Dolsak serves as Amy’s assistant.

“It’s definitely a unique situation, I guess it’s a win-win for them,” Komlanc joked. “It’s pretty neat to have a pair of Trumbull County schools playing in the regional. For me personally, it’s especially unique because of the connections.

“Growing up, I was extremely close with a lot of the Kennedy players. They had a great team in the late ‘90s, and they would always come to the McDonald courts to play. We would have a great time going back and forth over who had the better team. It was a lot of fun.”

All things considered, it’s difficult to believe an Eagles-Blue Devils clash isn’t a regularity. The pair of small schools are separated by just 6.4 miles, and given the perennial success of both programs, you would think a tournament meeting would be inevitable more often than not.

In fact, tonight marks just the second meeting between the two schools, who have never met in the regular season. In 2013, McDonald beat JFK 61-54 in an early-round tournament game when both schools were part of the Warren Div. IV district.

“This is a great game for both schools and for the Mahoning Valley,” McDonald coach Jeff Rasile said. “We were rooting for JFK to advance just because we thought it would be really cool to play a local team in the regionals. At the end of the night, the area will have a team advance to the final eight, and that’s pretty neat. This is really good for area basketball.”

Warren JFK (19-7) heads into tonight’s game on a roll. The Eagles have won nine straight, including Grand Valley District victories over top-seeded Bristol (68-52) and defending Div. IV state champion Cornerstone Christian (75-72).

Against Bristol, Warren JFK was paced by a 25-point night from junior Byron Taylor. Last Friday, the Eagles erased a nine-point, first-half deficit against Cornerstone thanks in large part to a 25-point outburst by senior Nate Woods.

On the season, senior Justin Bofenkamp (17.5 points per game) leads a balanced Kennedy offense. Antonio McQueen (13.7 points, 9.2 rebounds), Woods (13.5 points) and Taylor (12.5 points) all average in double-figures.

McDonald has been on a season-long roll. The Blue Devils (25-1) lost just once in the regular season, a 73-66 overtime setback at South Range (23-2). The Devils were recognized by the Associated Press voters as the top Div. IV team in the state. They won their four tournament games by margins of 91, 25, 22 and 53 points.

Like JFK, McDonald has four players who are scoring in double-figures for the season. Freshman Zach Rasile (20.4 points) leads the way. Rasile has connected on 138 three-pointers this year, an Ohio single-season record.

Braedon Poole (17.9 points), Joe Ragazzine (15.5 points) and Dylan Portolese (14.8 points) also lead a McDonald offense which is averaging 90.1 points.

McDonald is making its second straight trip to Canton.

“What Jeff has done with that program is quite remarkable,” Komlanc said. “They are regarded as the top team in the state for a reason. They play a style of basketball that is fun to watch, but is very difficult to match up against. They play with a reckless abandon, but they are very under control in what they do. We know we’re going to have everything thrown at us for a full 32 minutes.

“We’re going to have to take care of the basketball and get high percentage shots against their press. Defensively, we’ll have to be very disciplined. And we can’t give them second opportunities. Honestly, I think that when you look at the box score, whoever wins the rebounding battle will win the game.”

While Warren JFK has had its share of ups-and-downs this season, it’s sometimes-bumpy road to Canton occurred while playing a schedule which Rasile described as being “as brutal as any Div. IV slate in the state.” In the six-team White Tier of the North Coast League, Kennedy was one of four teams to win district titles. In all, Warren JFK faced five opponents this year who won district championships, and went 5-3 against those teams.

“I was asked to compare them to another team in the area, and the Cleveland Cavaliers came to mind,” Rasile said with a laugh. “They really do have the complete package. They will throw some size at us that we haven’t seen yet this year, and that is a concern.

“We’re going to have to rebound. We can’t give them second chances. If they shoot lights out, we’re in trouble. Make no mistake, we’re the underdog in this one, but we’ll come to play and to win. We just have to play our game.”

Bofenkamp is one of four players on the JFK roster who also played for the Eagles’ football team, which won a state title in December. He said the five-week football playoff run has paid dividends on the hardwood.

“Having already gone through that pressure, and knowing that every game is do-or-die, that’s been a big advantage,” Bofenkamp said. “I have looked back to that a lot of times during this tournament. We talked about it a lot. About how we weren’t expected to win a lot of those games, but we never gave up.”

Bofenkamp said that playing McDonald provides extra incentive.

“They are known as the top team in Ohio, and rightfully so,” Bofenkamp said. “They earned that right in the regular season to be regarded as the best, and we always want to challenge ourselves against the best. And it’s fun to be playing this late in the season against another local team.”

Portolese is one of four seniors on the McDonald roster. He knows that regardless of tonight’s outcome, his group has already made Blue Devils basketball history. Back-to-back district titles and the schools first Associated Press title has secured a place in the record books.

And while Portolese echoed the comments of his coach by calling McDonald “a decisive underdog against a great JFK team” he isn’t quite ready for his career to end.

“I’ve seen JFK in person, they will definitely be the biggest, best, most athletic team we’ve seen all year,” Portolese said. “But we’re up for the challenge. We know that to be the best, you have to play the best. We feel like if we play our game, if we play to our capability, we can hang with any team in the state.

“Our goal all year was to win district. We did that, but now we’re hungry for a lot more. We know we have the pieces to go further.”

As for Komlanc’s personal cheering section?

Earlier this month, Komlanc learned what it is like to have family ties to both programs when he took his team to watch the JFK and McDonald girls play in a district semifinal game. That contest was won by the Blue Devils (and Komlanc’s sisters), 53-52.

“I just kind of sat back and didn’t clap, didn’t cheer either way,” Komlanc said. “I did look at it as a win-win for me. Given the family ties to McDonald, I can understand if they root against me [tonight]. But I also know that deep down, they would be extremely happy for me if we come out on top.”

Tonight’s game tips off at 8. The winner will play either Lutheran East or Malvern on Friday for the right to advance to Columbus.