Gahanna Lincoln's boys basketball team had a big season last year.
"And the year before, and the year before," added coach Tony Staib.
In the 2010-11 campaign, the Golden Lions were 19-1 overall in the regular season, losing only to Pickerington North in a second-round Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division game. Lincoln and the Panthers tied for the conference title at 13-1 each.
Then Gahanna, ranked No. 8 in the state, won four straight Division I postseason tournament contests for a Central District crown, then lost a heartbreaking 57-52 decision to No. 2 Northland in the regional semifinals -- ending the season 23-2.
The year before, the Lions (26-1), with district and regional titles under their belts (and beating Northland), advanced to the state semifinals, where they fell 62-50 to Massillon Jackson.
In 2009, Gahanna made it to the district semifinals, where it lost to Westerville North.
But after last season, the graduation losses were big -- nine seniors in all, including second-team All-Ohioan Stevie Taylor.
Now Staib is looking at three returning letterwinners in all in seniors Austin Rutherford and Aaron Roberson and junior Aaron Jackson -- the team captains.
"We graduated a senior class than over the last four years were 82-14," the coach said. "A final four trip, undefeated regular season, 26 wins two years ago which was the most in school history, back-to-back Central District championships, back-to-back OCC championships.
"They just really helped elevate our program to the next level, so that's an outstanding group."
But that was then.
"Now we sort of have to move on to a lot of new faces," said Staib. "This is a roster that has a lot of underclassmen, a lot of youth and inexperience. So we're going to have to grow up fast."
Rutherford, a guard, is the only player left from the Lions' final four team, back when he was a sophomore
"He's seen it all here," Staib said. "He's sort of the veteran of the bunch. We expect Austin to be a great leader for us."
Roberson, also a guard, got some quality playing time last year.
"We're going to ask him to carry the load not only defensively like he was last year, but also throw some points on the board as well," the coach said.
The 6-foot-6 Jackson, a guard-forward in '10-11, started toward the end of last season and through Lincoln's tournament run.
"He's had a tremendous offseason and is getting a lot of Division I (college) looks," Staib said.
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Just 48 hours after the Worthington Kilbourne football team closed out its 2011 campaign, coach Vince Trombetti was already preparing for the season-ending banquet and looking ahead to next season.
"We'll be back to work Nov. 28," said Trombetti. "I'm told some of the guys are already in the weight room on their own, working out for next season."
The Wolves' season ended Oct. 28 with a disappointing 3-7 record overall (2-5 in the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division) after a 21-20 home league loss to Thomas Worthington.
The defeat was particularly tough to swallow after a determined Kilbourne squad, looking to close its campaign on a high note, was unable to maintain an early lead.
"It was a tale of two halves of football," Trombetti said. "We executed our game plan in the first half. (The Cardinals) won the second half, which is the more important one.
"We came in to this game thinking victory. Our season didn't play out the way we'd envisioned. We wanted to spoil someone else's season."
As the coach added, "It's a 48-minute game and you have to play the entire game." However, "This team showed its character. They certainly are not quitters.
"These seniors have worked hard throughout the program. Life knocks you down sometimes, but you have to get back up. This team proved that."
Trombetti is losing a group of talented seniors, including linebackers Conor Flaherty (second-team All-OCC) and James Meager (all-league special mention).
"Those two anchored our defense," the coach said.
For the first time in recent history, the Wolves will not have a member of the Skura family on the football team next season.
"Losing Chris (offensive lineman, first-team All-OCC) is bittersweet," Trombetti said. "We hate to see him move on, but opportunities lie ahead."
Older brother Matt Skura was a three-year letterman at Kilbourne before committing to Duke.
Senior running back Danny Shiblaq (second-team All-OCC) "gave us everything he had," the coach said.
Evan Nordengren (wide receiver, honorable mention All-OCC) concluded his Kilbourne career as a three-year starter.
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With the top three teams in the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division making the football postseason playoffs this year, it leaves the five remaining schools to ponder the "close calls" and "what ifs" of another campaign in one of the state's toughest leagues.
Thomas Worthington, toiling in the OCC Central, finished its 2011 campaign with a 4-6 record overall and a 3-4 mark in the league play. Both ledgers are one win better than 2010.
Cardinals coach Scott Gordon knew his squad would be more competitive this season, and the scores bear that out. The Cards lost two OCC Central games by a touchdown, including a 14-7 loss to Upper Arlington (9-2, 6-1 OCC Central for second place), which won its playoff opener Nov. 5.
"We were competitive in just about every conference game," Gordon said.
TWHS lost 14-7 to Hilliard Darby, which finished 7-3 and fourth in the OCC Central, but the Cards went the way of most teams in one-sided losses to champion Hilliard Davidson (33-0) and third-place Dublin Coffman (24-0).
"(The season's) disappointing with the (won-loss) results (won-loss record)," said Gordon, in his fifth year with Thomas.
"I thought we'd have a better record. We had a few games that we had a chance to win that we let slip away. It changes how you look back on the season. I thought we had a 7-3 in us."
As it turned out, the season opener was a bit of a "trap game," as Jonathan Alder, a Division III team which won its first playoff game Nov. 4, eventually went undefeated during the regular season (10-0). Alder caught the Cards a bit off guard to start the year, winning 37-0. Four of the teams on the Thomas 2011 schedule made the playoffs.
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COLUMBUS — Goals one and two accomplished ...
The Golden Eagles have put two preseason goals for 2011 in the books … an Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division championship and a berth in the OHSAA Division II Playoffs.
Big Walnut, closing out its regular-season slate with an (8-2, 6-1 OCC) record, locked up a share of the OCC’s Capital Division with Olentangy Orange and New Albany with a 41-10 decision over an undermanned, but determined Franklin Heights (1-9, 0-7 OCC) squad here last Friday night.
The Pioneers defeated Delaware Hayes 47-21 and the Eagles scored a 35-14 decision of Mount Vernon to match the Golden Eagles with identical 8-2, 7-1 records for the top spot in the Capital Division.
“The guys came out ready to play and took care of business early,” Golden Eagle head coach Joe Weaver said. “We never wavered in our bid to win a share of the OCC Capital and to return to the State playoffs. I’m extremely proud of what they have accomplished, but now it’s time to refocus and get ready for the postseason.”
Big Walnut wasted little time in taking control at Franklin Heights, the three scoring series covering a total of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Senior quarterback Tyler Beam, completing four of his first five passes for 152 yards, threw touchdown strikes of 61, 5 and 26 yards to senior Grant Beam, senior Seth Wandling and senior Gabe Kitchen in the first 7 minutes and 39 seconds of play to take a 21-0 lead with 4:21 left in the opening period.
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The Ashland Arrows are back in the post season for the third straight year as outright Ohio Cardinal Conference champs prepping for the New Albany Eagles of the Ohio Capital Conference. Ashland comes into week 11 on a five game winning streak that began after a tough 34-31 loss to West Holmes that had the team at 1-4 at midseason. Steve Mowry, a senior offesive tackle, said Arrows head coach Scott Valentine, told the team at that point in the season that they could either fall apart, or work to get better. Ashland's opponent, New Albany will feature the wing"T" on offense and like the Arrows returned only four players on each side of the ball. New Albany's two losses were to Olentangy Orange 32-7, and Westerville Central 28-14. Ashland comes into Friday's regional quarter final at 6-4, the Eagles 8-2 having won their last four games.
In a tale of two halves, Tony Harvard’s 1-yard touchdown run with 10:10 left proved to be enough to lead visiting Thomas Worthington over Worthington Kilbourne 21-20 in the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division.
Kilbourne, which carried a 20-7 lead into halftime, had its chances after Harvard’s go-ahead score, but turned the ball over twice.
The Wolves (3-7, 2-5)turned the ball over three times in the second half as their lead withered.
Eric Monfort led the Cardinals (4-6, 3-4) with 164 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and Harvard added 75 yards on nine carries.
The Wolves had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Danny Shiblaq (144) and Isaac Lumpkin (116), who each scored a first-half touchdown.
The two teams combined to rush for 564 yards on 91 carries.
Big Walnut 41, Franklin Heights 10
Tyler Beam threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter, and Big Walnut (8-2, 6-1) downed host Franklin Heights (1-9, 0-7) in the Capital Division.
Beam’s TD tosses went to Grant Beam (61yards), Seth Wandling (5 yards) and Gabe Kitchen (26 yards). Joey Johnson was effective on the ground for the Eagles with touchdowns of 16 and 25 yards.
Olentangy Orange 47, Delaware 21
Brandon Schoen scored the game’s first three touchdowns, and Olentangy Orange (8-2, 6-1) cruised to a win over host Delaware (3-7, 2-5) in the Capital Division.
Schoen scored on runs of 76, 6, 16 and 49 yards, and the Pioneers finished in a three-way tie atop the Capital Division.
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One major hurdle still remains for the Pickerington Central football team to absolutely lock up a playoff berth.
The Tigers, coming off a 34-0 throttling of host Grove City Friday, Oct. 21, will host Reynoldsburg in an Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division showdown Friday, Oct. 28. Central is 6-2 and 6-0 in the OCC Ohio, and ranked sixth last week in the Division I, Region 3 computer poll, from which the top eight teams advance to the playoffs.
Central is not taking the Raiders lightly.
"First of all, Reynoldsburg's our oldest rivalry, and it goes back before I even started coaching here as a freshman coach," said Tigers coach Jay Sharrett. "There's a lot of emotion. It will take care of the playoffs, because as of now, as long as we win, we're in."
A win over the Raiders (6-3, 4-2 OCC Ohio) would not only all but guarantee a playoff berth, but clinch an outright OCC Ohio Championship. Gahanna (7-2) is currently in second in the league standings with a 5-1 mark, as its only division loss came to the Tigers.
The Tigers have already earned a share of the conference title. If the Tigers were to end with one loss along with the Lions who they previously beat, they would still share the title.
"That's how the conference does it, and to be honest, I like that philosophy," Sharrett said. "It's not very often you get a chance to run the table and win the conference outright, and we're in that situation."
Sharrett said the team has also benefited from that rule in years past, sharing a title with a team who beat the Tigers and then lost in the conference later in the season.
The coach also mentioned a key to beating the Raiders will involve neutralizing their defensive front. He also added Reynoldsburg are good tacklers and don't miss many tackles.
The Tigers faced another must-win against Grove City, and responded by scoring all of their 34 points in the first half.
"We wanted to go in that game and get another conference victory which would earn us a share of the title, and that's what we did and that was our main motivation in that game," the coach said.
Jake Kincaid opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run, before adding another 1-yard run before the quarter ended.
In the second quarter, quarterback Nick Jensen-Clagg connected with Isaiah Richmond for a 15-yard touchdown pass and Roger Lewis for a 40-yard score. Devone Penick added an 8-yard rushing touchdown, as well.
The Tigers have hit a hot streak, winning six straight after dropping their first two games of the season. Granted, the two losses came to perennial powers in Cincinnati Moeller and Cincinnati St. Xavier.
"We knew that we were playing the toughest non-league schedule in the history of the school," Sharrett said. "...We've just tried to prepare each week, and here we are 6-2 and trying to win this thing outright in week 10."
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NEWARK -- Colton Taylor saw plenty of action for Newark in 2010, but he wasn't a starter.
Taylor thought he would start on at least one side of the ball as a senior this season, but he's done more than that.
"He hasn't missed one snap, on offense or defense, the whole season," Newark coach Gregg Forsythe said. "He is the only lineman that hasn't missed one play. He has been very consistent."
Taylor, who is 5-foot-11, 240 pounds, starts at offensive guard and defensive end.
"I had no idea I would play as much as I have," Taylor said. "To be honest, I thought I would start on offense. I wasn't used to playing that much, and it was hard at first.
"I had to adjust to it real quick, and once I got into the flow of the game, I knew what I had to do."
Taylor said the biggest adjustment has been going up against players who are fresh because they don't play both ways.
"The hardest part is when the game wears on and you start getting a little tired, but the guy you are going against is only playing offense or defense," Taylor said. "Most of the teams we play against don't have that many guys going both ways.
"Because of our numbers, it doesn't work out that way for us, but I don't mind."
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PATASKALA -- The Watkins Memorial football team has no answer for its struggles away from home.
"I couldn't tell you," junior lineman Boban Stepanovich said.
The best way to resolve the question would be by beating host Hilliard Bradley at 7:30 p.m. Friday in an Ohio Capital Conference-Capital Division finale. The Warriors have lost all four of their road games, and two were by large margins.
It is a trend Watkins (4-5, 2-4) is hoping to reverse against Bradley (6-3, 3-3). The Jaguars are having their best season in their third year, and the Warriors are looking for a statement victory in OCC-Capital play.
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Cameron Kohl returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown with two minutes left in the game, and Hilliard Darby escaped with a 14-7 victory over visiting Thomas Worthington last night in an Ohio Capital Conference Central Division game.
The teams traded second-quarter touchdowns before grinding to an offensive halt in the second half.
Dante Talley scored on a 3-yard run for Darby (6-2, 3-2) with five minutes left in the half for a 7-0 lead.
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