DII Boardman District

• bulldog8

  Find below the link for the bracket of the 2010 DII Boardman district tournament. What are everyone's thoughts on this district, who are the favorites, who will be the surprises, and best potential matchups??
  
  http://brackets.digitalschoolnetwork.net/bracket.aspx?not=12&t=1022&ts=2163
  
  Teams in the district with seeds look as follows:
  1) Poland Seminary
  2) Struthers
  3) Youngstown Cardinal Mooney
  4) Streetsboro
  5) Hubbard
  6) Mogadore Field
  7) Niles McKinley
  8) Ravenna
  9) Salem
  10) Ravenna Southeast
  11) West Branch
  12) Mantua Crestwood
  
  I personally will be hoping for a Poland/Struthers final with Poland advancing to the regional in Canton. Poland really has a solid group this year and are very deep.
• bulldog8

  I'm thinking West Branch is one of the unlisted teams that are in this district. Possibly them and Hubbard? I'm kind of shooting in the dark here - not really sure who the missing pieces are. If anyone can verify who the other teams are, I will adjust my original post and possibly add a poll to vote on who gets out of this district.
• CardsFlyinHigh

  Bulldog8,
  #5 is Hubbard and #11 is West Branch. 100% confirmed
  
  Poland is obviously the heavy favorties here. Struthers should meet them in the finals. Dont know much about Streetsboro as to what kinda threat they can be.
  If you want a dark horse, Im thinking Niles. Frantz can really carry the team and they could pull a surprise or two
• bulldog8

  CardsFlyinHigh wrote: Bulldog8,
  #5 is Hubbard and #11 is West Branch. 100% confirmed
  
  Poland is obviously the heavy favorties here. Struthers should meet them in the finals. Dont know much about Streetsboro as to what kinda threat they can be.
  If you want a dark horse, Im thinking Niles. Frantz can really carry the team and they could pull a surprise or two

  Much appreciated. Good luck to your Canfield Cardinals the rest of the way. Looking forward to a great game next Friday!
• QuakerOats

  I think it will be either Mooney or Salem meeting Poland in the championship game.
• FatMatt

  Mooney is 15-4 with wins over Canfield, Campbell, Youngstown Christian, Boardman, East Palestine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. It seems as if they are being overlooked here and I'm not sure why.
  
  I think you'll see a Poland vs. Mooney/Struthers final, with Poland winning somewhat easily. My dark horse is Hubbard. Don't see anyone else with much of a chance.
• Zombienation

  FatMatt wrote: Mooney is 15-4 with wins over Canfield, Campbell, Youngstown Christian, Boardman, East Palestine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. It seems as if they are being overlooked here and I'm not sure why.
  
  I think you'll see a Poland vs. Mooney/Struthers final, with Poland winning somewhat easily. My dark horse is Hubbard. Don't see anyone else with much of a chance.

  Poland would not beat either team easily. Poland beat Struthers pretty handily according to the score. But boy was it a game for 3 quarters. Hubbard.. ehh. Drummond is out for the season, and they don't have much leadership. QuakerOats Where do you get salem from? Losing by 20 against Struthers, and losing by a large margin to Poland earlier in the season, i see no chance for the quakers.
  
  I would Personally love to see a Struthers/Poland Final, but hey if poland gets upset, i won't be mad either :] Go Cats!
• bulldog8

  ^^I don't think Poland will see much resistance this year in the district. I think this year might be theirs to shine, but unfortunately the skill level in the Canton regional will be extremely high with ASVSM and Akron Buchtel both having huge years.
• sports_talk

  to bad there wont be much resistance for the Dogs. Ticket sells should be down becasue of it. Who wants to watch blow outs. IS there a West Branch waiting inthe wings this year?
• Bucknuts108

  Look for the Cats to make some NOISE!
• bulldog8

  I think Poland vs Mooney or Poland vs Struthers could be decent matchups. Poland has already beat Struthers and Streetsboro by 28 and 25 respectively, but have yet to play Mooney. Being that Mooney has beaten Canfield, I think the Cardinals would give Poland the best competition in the district. Who knows what will happen though, sometimes a few sleeper teams can really make some noise in the tournament.
• sports_talk

  Don't think it will be loud enough. Size is really an issue with them. Baker and the other guy make it tough to rebound. Mooney has some size but might be wearying down from a long football season and hoops. TOugh on the legs. I don't think the one outside shooter can carry them like he has in some games. But I agree Mooney is the dark horse.
• bulldog8

  sports_talk wrote: Don't think it will be loud enough. Size is really an issue with them. Baker and the other guy make it tough to rebound. Mooney has some size but might be wearying down from a long football season and hoops. TOugh on the legs. I don't think the one outside shooter can carry them like he has in some games. But I agree Mooney is the dark horse.

  I think Poland's size will make it difficult for many teams in the district. Not only do they run their fast-paced, run-and-gun style of game, but they don't sacrifice height for athleticism or quickness anywhere. Baker stands at 6'5", Donlow at 6'4", and Price at 6'3".
• SHSAttack

  The district will come down to Poland vs. Mooney/Struthers winner. Both should be great games. And to whoever said ticket sales will be down, i know that both Struthers and Poland will both bring huge crowds. But my prediction for the district has to be the Cats. They will have to shoot the ball well to beat both Mooney and Poland, but i think they will catch fire in this tournament and advance. My logic for them beating Poland is that Niko Fatimus was 10-14 on 3 pointers in the first matchup, and also Baker was the benefit of some questionable no-calls. On a neutral court, even if Fatimus hits half as many 3 pointers, its a lot closer game..and with Baker in foul trouble, Poland would struggle mightily. This is not taking away anything from the Dogs, they have a terrific team...just my opinion.
• bulldog8

  SHSAttack wrote: The district will come down to Poland vs. Mooney/Struthers winner. Both should be great games. And to whoever said ticket sales will be down, i know that both Struthers and Poland will both bring huge crowds. But my prediction for the district has to be the Cats. They will have to shoot the ball well to beat both Mooney and Poland, but i think they will catch fire in this tournament and advance. My logic for them beating Poland is that Niko Fatimus was 10-14 on 3 pointers in the first matchup, and also Baker was the benefit of some questionable no-calls. On a neutral court, even if Fatimus hits half as many 3 pointers, its a lot closer game..and with Baker in foul trouble, Poland would struggle mightily. This is not taking away anything from the Dogs, they have a terrific team...just my opinion.

  You'd have to take away all 10 of Fatimus' 3- pointers for Struthers to have been able to win that game Keeping in mind the 27 point victory earlier this year, I think just about everything will have to go right for Struthers that night to have a chance at taking down the top-seeded Poland Bulldogs. Poland has too much firepower this year and will advance to Regionals and possibly states. As talented as this Struthers team is this year, I think they will come up just a bit short.
• bulldog8

  Poland defeats Hubbard for 9th straight win
  Published: Wed, February 24, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m.
  Luke Wollet became the Bulldogs’ single-season assist leader in the 92-72 victory.
  
  POLAND — Dave Baker scored 20 points, had 11 rebounds and registered seven blocked shots while Luke Wollet became the Bulldogs’ single-season assist leader as Poland High defeated the Hubbard Eagles, 92-72, in an All American Conference intra-division contest Tuesday at the Poland Gymnasium.
  
  The Bulldogs (18-1) won for the ninth consecutive time and will now host the Canfield Cardinals in the regular season finale Friday night for what they hope will be a share of the league’s Red Tier crown.
  
  Poland’s only loss this season came at the hands of the Cardinals, 96-89 back on January 22.
  
  In a game that featured 60 total turnovers – 34 by the Eagles – it was a 34-point final period orchestrated by the home team that allowed the Bulldogs to pull away for their 18th win in 19 tries this season.
  
  “Hubbard did an excellent job tonight,” said Poland coach Ken Grisdale. “They competed as a team, never backed down and, despite their lack of depth, just kept coming at us.
  
  “I have a lot more respect for them [Hubbard] than I do for my team right now. I was a little angry at my A group so when I went to my B group, they were ready and executed really well.
  
  “Our kids can learn a lot from the Hubbard kids tonight.”
  
  The Eagles (13-7) took an early 8-2 lead on the strength of Tylor Loveless’ five points. But the Bulldogs charged back to score 21 of the next 28 points to forge a 25-17 after the first eight minutes of play.
  
  Loveless, who had a game high 27 points, scored 12 of his team’s 17 first-quarter points while Baker, who fell just three blocks shy of recording a triple-double, had 11 points for Poland.
  
  “It was as if we weren’t focused at the outset of the game, but our B group stepped it up and came up big for us, especially in the fourth period when we needed it most,” Baker said. “I can’t say that we were looking ahead, but Coach [Grisdale] told us at halftime to keep our focus and that is exactly what we did.”
  
  Back-to-back buckets by Hubbard’s Mike Lopuchovsky cut the Poland lead to 30-25 in the second quarter, but three straight empty possessions by the Eagles allowed the Bulldogs to open a 38-32 lead at the intermission.
  
  “I was really proud of our kids and the way they competed the entire game,” said Hubbard coach Rick Fox. “I think we opened some eyes tonight with how hard we played and the overall effort that we put forth.
  
  “I told our team at the half that we had too many empty possessions and against a team the caliber of Poland, you have to value every possession,” Rick Fox said.
  
  Lopuchovsky, who has been averaging nearly a double-double all season long, hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds for the Eagles.
  
  Wollet, who needed nine assists to tie Anthony DeFelice’s single season record of 142 set two seasons ago, had 13 assists in the game.
  
  He also orchestrated a 10-point third period that enabled the Bulldogs to open a 58-50 lead heading to the final quarter.
  
  Poland then used an 11-3 run to start the final frame as they built a 69-53 advantage. Nine points from Ben Donlow and seven more from Drew Wagner increased the margin to 85-58 before settling for the 20-point victory.
  
  The Eagles, who finished as runners-up in the White Tier to Struthers High, lost for just the second time in their last seven outings.
• PSHSfan

  Poland will get its revenge on Mooney in the district final for the playoff loss in football this year.
• bulldog8

  PSHSfan wrote: Poland will get its revenge on Mooney in the district final for the playoff loss in football this year.

  Amen to that! I could go for either a 30 point thumping against Mooney or another 25+ point thumping over Struthers in the District final Doubtful either of those will happen, but who knows.
• bulldog8

  Bringing this one back to the top with the tournament starting Tuesday March 2nd. Poland concludes its season tonight with Canfield at home.
• bulldog8

  Poland beat Canfield tonight 73-71 on a last second tip in by Ben Donlow. The Dogs earned a share of the conference title and look poised for a nice run in the tournament. Let's go Dogs!
• FatMatt

  Bulldog: PLEASE spare us the Vindy article about the game tomorrow -- nobody cares about such a long post! Congrats to Poland -- much closer than I thought it would be. Kudos to Coach Cullen for keeping it close with only 5 players (Canfield has no bench) and with Podolsky fighting the flu. Still think Poland wins District Tourney, but maybe it will be a little more of a challenge than I originally thought. Mooney/Struthers in the semis looks to be the most competitive game, but I don't think either can hang with Poland for more than a couple quarters.
• bulldog8

  FatMatt wrote: Bulldog: PLEASE spare us the Vindy article about the game tomorrow -- nobody cares about such a long post! Congrats to Poland -- much closer than I thought it would be. Kudos to Coach Cullen for keeping it close with only 5 players (Canfield has no bench) and with Podolsky fighting the flu. Still think Poland wins District Tourney, but maybe it will be a little more of a challenge than I originally thought. Mooney/Struthers in the semis looks to be the most competitive game, but I don't think either can hang with Poland for more than a couple quarters.

  Who appointed you as the spokesman for everyone on the huddle? I didn't know I had to clear things with you before I posted them. I post the Vindy articles strictly for those who are interested in reading them. Here's a simple solution to your problem - if you don't want to read it, then don't read it - plain and simple. However, some people do like to read it. This is a place for posting about high school sports is it not?
• bulldog8

  Without further ado.....At the request of FatMatt and the fact that he would be utterly dissapointed if I didn't post the article from Friday's game between Poland and Canfield, I decided it would be best to share it. I actually was going to let this one slide, but out of spite and just to piss him off worse, I decided it was a must!
  
  Great win for the Dogs, but hats off to the Cardinals on their performance tonight. They have proved twice this season that Poland is a very beatable team. This was only the second chance I had at seeing the Bulldogs play and i'm not so certain that this district will be as easy as I thought at the beginning of the year. Struthers has finished the season hot and Mooney should not be underestimated as well. Best of luck to all the local teams in the tournament.
  
  Heart racer, heartbreaker
  Published: Sat, February 27, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m.
  Ben Donlow’s last-second tip-in lifts Poland past rivals
  
  Donlow finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Canfield.
  
  POLAND — Only a few heartbeats remained in the type of game that can stop your heart — or set it racing.
  
  The biggest regular season contest in the Mahoning Valley this season was tied in the final seconds Friday night and the ball was in the hands of Poland senior Niko Fatimus, who had burned his rivals for 42 points in their first meeting.
  
  As he drove in, his path to the rim was blocked, his look at the basket was five fingers short of clear and as he released a 10-foot jumper it, it looked like it was going to be short.
  
  But it also looked like it had a shot.
  
  At that moment, senior Ben Donlow knifed toward the basket and managed to squeeze in front of Canfield senior Joe “Bulldog killer” Hoelzel.
  
  Fatimus’ shot bounced off the front of the rim, bounced again and ... went out. On its way down, Donlow leaped high in the air, stretched out every bit of his 6-foot-4 wingspan and tipped it up.
  
  And. It. Dropped. In.
  
  “Luke [Wollet] picked me up and took me over there,” said Donlow, pointing to the student section after Friday’s 73-71 win. “I don’t remember what happened after that.”
  
  Well, in a word, pandemonium.
  
  Three-fourths of the crowd went crazy, Wollet grabbed the rivalry trophy off a table behind the bench, Canfield junior Dan Campolito flung the ball up toward the ceiling and, with the Bulldogs gathered in front of them, Poland’s students starting chanting “This is our house!”
  
  “I drew it up that way,” quipped Poland coach Ken Grisdale of the last play. “I was going to call timeout and then I didn’t and I didn’t handle that situation real well. Ben bailed me out.
  
  “I was telling the kids, in 50 years when they have their senior reunion, they’ll be telling people Ben came from half court to tip it in.”
  
  The dramatic finish was a fitting finale to the best two-game basketball series you’ll ever see. Canfield won the first round 96-89 in a game every bit as good and the only tragedy was the fact that Canfield’s enrollment has six boys too many, sending the Cardinals to Canton for the Division I tournament instead of Round 3 in the Division II district final.
  
  “It would be awesome,” said Grisdale, “but I don’t want to play them again.”
  
  Donlow finished with 14 points — four of them off dunks — and 10 rebounds on the night before his 18th birthday.
  
  He’s dreamed about this victory for weeks, but never in his wildest dreams did he make the game-winning shot.
  
  “Niko takes all the game-winning shots,” said Donlow. “That’s Niko job on our team.
  
  “I’m just helping him out.”
  
  Fatimus added 12 points and four assists, David Baker had 14 points and six rebounds and Wollet had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Bulldogs (19-1, 6-1), who, by the way, captured a share of the All-American Conference Red Tier crown.
  
  Campolito had 21 points and senior guard Gene Wollet added 20 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Cardinals (17-3, 6-1). Hoelzel, who scored 40 points in the first meeting, had just 14 while battling foul trouble. Mike Podolsky, who had the flu the past two days, added 12 points.
  
  “They’re crushed, as I am,” said Canfield coach John Cullen. “How you feel is directly proportional to how much you have invested.
  
  “They’ve got a lot invested.”
  
  Friday’s game was, in many ways, the exact opposite of the teams’ first meeting. After watching Canfield burn his defense for a lifetime’s worth of layups, Grisdale went away from his frenetic, full-court pressure and inserted a triangle-and-two defense designed to stop Podolsky and Campolito.
  
  It was reminiscent of the pre-2007 Grisdale, who led the Bulldogs to two state tournament appearances playing a half-court game. Then, two years ago, he switched styles and went back to Columbus.
  
  “At this time of year, you do what you have to do,” said Grisdale. “We may be dumb, but we’re not stupid. We’re going to figure out what we have to do to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
  
  The defense seemed to confuse the Cardinals, at least at first.
  
  “In our scouting report, we said they were going to do something, whether it was a 1-1-3 [zone] or just half-court trapping,” said Cullen. “They selected guys they were not going to guard early.
  
  “It took awhile for us to adjust. He was picking his poison, is all.”
  
  The Cardinals hadn’t seen that look all year but, as Cullen said, “we made some adjustments on the fly.”
  
  The game went back and forth through the first three quarters but Canfield couldn’t seem to grab the lead or make a big run, as it had in the first game. Poland appeared to have the game in hand with two minutes left when a Donlow layup inside (on a beautiful pass from Wollet) gave the Bulldogs an eight point lead, 70-72.
  
  Then Hoelzel answered on the other end, Wollet missed the front end of a one-and-one and Gene Wollet hit a huge 3 to cut the deficit to 70-67. After a Fatimus free throw, Gene Wollet scored again, then Hoelzel stole the ball and hit a quick layup to tie the game at 71 with 29 seconds left and set up the frenzied finish.
  
  “For us to put ourselves in position to win that game speaks volumes for what kind of heart we have in that locker room,” said Cullen.
  
  When asked if he’d like another shot at them, Cullen paused, smiled and said, “It’d be a great game, wouldn’t it?”
  
  [email protected]
• bulldog8

  Two games down in the district last night as Niles McKinley beat Mogadore Field 83-71 and are now slated to play Streetsboro on Wednesday at 6pm. Additionally, Ravenna Southeast beat Mantua Crestwood 75-71 and will play Poland on Wednesday at 730pm. Tonight's games have Salem vs Ravenna at 6pm, followed by West Branch vs. Hubbard at 730pm. The winners of these games will play Mooney and Struthers respectively.
  
  Congratulations to Niles and Ravenna on their victories last night and best of luck to those playing this evening. I'd like to see Salem and Hubbard come out with wins tonight. Does anyone have any thoughts on the first couple games or others scheduled this week? There doesn't seem to be much talk regarding the Boardman district this year.
• QuakerOats

  I like Salem tonight if the team is allowed to run and use their athleticism.
  
  Go Quakers !!