Harris, Rasile, Stephens, Drapola are Players of Year

By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Nick Blanch, Poland’s girls basketball coach for 10 seasons, knows talent when he sees it.

One of five Mahoning Valley coaches being honored today with the announcement of the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association All-Northeast Inland District basketball teams, Blanch was asked about the skills of Ursuline’s Dayshanette Harris after his undefeated Bulldogs defeated the Irish in Thursday’s Division II district title game.

“She’s the best player in the area, and for a reason,” said Blanch after his first district championship. “We celebrate 1,000 points. There’s a girl who has well over 2,000 points.

“She’s a special girl, she’s going to be special over at Pitt as well,” Blanch said.

Poland (25-0) won, 65-51, at Austintown Fitch High School. Harris, Mahoning County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,428 points, led the Irish (17-8) with 30 points.

Blanch, the Div. II girls basketball Coach of the Year, said his players will long remember playing against Harris, the Div. II girls Player of the Year.

“To be able to have that opportunity against her is something these girls are going to live with, and when they see her down the road, maybe even in the WNBA, it’s going to be cool to say that we got to play against her, I got to coach against her,” Blanch said.

In the regular season, Harris, a 5-foot-7 senior, averaged 28.3 points, seven rebounds, 5.5 steals and 4 assists.

“Tremendous athlete, tremendous player but also tremendous kid and a tremendous person,” Ursuline girls coach Vannessa Dickson said. “It’s been a blessing to coach her and watch he mature. She’s a genuine kid and I’ll be excited to watch her college career blossom as well.”

The All-Northeast Inland District includes the top players from parts of Stark, Summit, Medina, Wayne, Trumbull, Columbiana, Mahoning and Ashland counties. The teams are selected by a media panel from those areas.

Other Mahoning Valley players receiving top honors are: Tyler Stephens, LaBrae, the Div. III boys player of the year; Zach Rasile, McDonald, the Div. IV boys player of the Year; and Bailey Drapola, Brookfield, the Div. IV girls Player of the Year.

Also receiving coaching honors are: Pat Birch, Boardman, Div. I boys; Marlon McGaughy, Chaney, Div. II boys; Josh Upshire, Badger, Div. IV boys; and Amy Dolsak, McDonald, Div. IV, girls.

Stephens, a 6-6 senior, averaged 19.9 points and 11.7 rebounds for the Vikings. He has a scholarship to play football for the University of Buffalo.

Rasile, a 6-0 junior, averaged 36 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals. Rasile owns the Ohio record for 3-pointers (352) and already has surpassed 2,000 points in his career.

Drapola, a 5-10 senior, averaged 20.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals.

She has a scholarship to play softball at the University of Akron.

Birch guided the Spartans to a 19-3 record in the regular season. Denise Gorski, Boardman athletic director, says it’s the first time the Spartans have had so many wins since the 1970s.

McGaughy led the Cowboys to a 17-5 record in their first varsity season since 2011-12.

Dolsak’s Blue Devils swept their Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference opponents. In Saturday’s Division IV district final, league rival Western Reserve defeated McDonald, 46-39.