Kent Roosevelt offensive lineman Ryan Anderson was named the "Fan Favorite" for this year's Rudy Awards for athletes who inspire their teammates and communities. Anderson, who lost a promising football career after being diagnosed with cancer, received a $1,500 scholarship.
The Portage Trail Conference feels it has a good thing going and doesn’t want to make any changes that may rock the boat. Because of that, there are no plans to bring in new schools to replace East Canton and Windham – which are scheduled to leave the PTC after the 2012-13 school year.
“We want to be very careful about adding the right schools,” Rootstown athletic director Keith Waesch said. “There are a lot of concerns to consider in making sure a school is a good fit.”
Chief among those concerns are travel expenses and school size when replacing two of the PTC’s smallest members in the Hornets and Bombers.
The 14 remaining members of the PTC have tabled the discussion of adding new members while not ruling anybody out. The one and only apparent change will be one to balance the Metro and County Divisions into two seven-team leagues. Streetsboro, which moved from the County to the Metro Division at the start of this school year, will become the small-school division’s seventh member again beginning with the 2013-14 school year.
From that point the PTC will operate as two seven-team divisions through at least the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.
“We have a great group of schools and you want to make sure the fit is perfect,” Field athletic director Matt Furino said. “At this point and time we felt we need to get started scheduling for our next two year cycle.”
Both Furino and Waesch said that while the decision is to keep membership to 14 schools, that decision could change in the future as they evaluate potential schools for membership further.
“Ideally a 16-team conference is perfect when you are talking about leagues larger than eight schools,” Waesch said. “Because you can have two eight-school divisions which works well for scheduling.”
“There’s a lot of great schools out there that could be a great fit to our league,” Furino said. “We just want to make sure the right school satisfies all of our concerns.”
Wrestling: Windon to lead Wildcats
With Thanksgiving fast-approaching it’s time to shift gears from football pads and the soccer pitch to basketball courts and wrestling mats. In the Mogadore gymnasium the Wildcat wrestling team will be under new direction with former Steubenville Catholic Central coach Jason Windon.
Windon, a Steubenville Catholic Central and Kent State University alumnus, led the Crusaders wrestling team from 2005-2007 and now brings his philosophies to Mogadore.
“I knew immediately I would like it here,” Windon said. “I come from a town with a rich sports tradition and an old school work ethic, and I noticed right away the people of Mogadore, young and old, share that same mindset.”
Windon is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and a two-time Ohio Grappling state champion.
“I have consistently encountered youth that want to learn and want to succeed,” Windon said. “It is refreshing to say the least.”
Mogadore athletic director Rich Brumbaugh is excited about what Windon can bring to the developing Wildcats wrestling program.
“We are lucky to have Jason on our staff. His professional approach to both teaching and coaching will go a long way to building our wrestling program in Mogadore,” Brumbaugh said. “The kids have shown a renewed interest in the sport, and we hope to continue our great relationship with the growing youth program.”
Mogadore opens the season Dec. 8 with a dual meet with Garrettsville Garfield.
Football: Metro rivals achieve first on same night
The Metro Division champion Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders and their arch rival Ravenna Ravens share a lot of commonalities, that’s part of what makes their rivalry so healthy. Last Friday, Kent Roosevelt and the Ravenna both earned their program’s first OHSAA State tournament victory winning home games in No. 4 vs No. 5 matchups in Division II and Division III, respectively.
Ravenna earned a 42-35 win over County Division champion Southeast thanks in large part to senior running back D.J. Jones continuing his record-breaking season. Jones has now set the school record for rushing yards and touchdowns in a season after gaining 223 yards and scoring five times in the playoff win. The big night gives Jones 2,345 yards and 33 touchdowns.
The previous school marks were set by Marcus Sanders in 1999 with 2,341 yards and 32 scores.
With at least one more game left Jones has a chance set the marks even higher.
The Rough Riders relied on their talented junior quarterback TraVon Chapman in their 30-21 win over Howland. Chapman has now contributed more than 3,300 yards of offense (2,579 passing) to Kent Roosevelt in his first year as a starter. Chapman has also thrown for 28 touchdowns and run for nine more.