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Welcome! I'm a high school football sports announcer for WOBL radio and I love to talk sports. You can connect with me via Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Thank you for visiting and please come again.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Lorain County High School Football Week 6 Predictions

October is coming up. High School football is close to it's final month. Here are my predictions for the week with the winner listed in bold.

Keystone @ Black River - I will covering this game for WOBL radio - tune in to 1320 AM or listen online

Trinity @ Elyria Catholic
Lorain @ Shaw
Elyria @ Cuyahoga Falls
Avon @ Vermilion
Bay @ North Ridgeville
Midview @ Rocky River
Firelands @ Fairview
Amherst @ Berea
Midpark @ Avon Lake
Oberlin @ Wellington
Brookside @ Buckeye
Clearview @ Columbia

Week 1: 4-7
Week 2: 10-3
Week 3: 10-2
Week 4: 11-3
Week 5: 10-4

Season total: 45-19

Friday, September 24, 2010

Buckeye vs. Clearview tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight from the sidelines of Tom Hoch field as the Clearview Clippers (3-1, 1-0) host the Buckeye Bucks (1-3, 1-0). You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and color commentator Darryl Maynard.

Both teams have dominated the Patriot Athletic Conference since the PAC originated in 2005. Buckeye has won the Stars division three straight years and four of the last five seasons. Clearview has won the last four Stripes Division titles and the last two years outright.

Although the history between the two teams is brief (played each other every year since 2007, Buckeye leads the series 2-1), the game tonight is pivotal for play-off implications. Clearview defeated Buckeye in 2008 en route to a perfect 10-0 regular season. Buckeye was victorious last year 19-17 which allowed the Bucks to make the play-offs and Clearview missed the post-season despite an 8-2 record.

Buckeye had a slow start this year with three losses (Cloverleaf, Elyria Catholic, Midview) but rebounded with a resounding 29-14 win last week against Oberlin. School district financial woes have forced each player to pay $600 to play. Prior to 2010, the Bucks have enjoyed seven straight winning seasons.

Austin Friel takes over at quarterback for Buckeye this year after serving as the back-up to Mike Kelly in 2009. Friel comes into the game 43-83 for 496 yards passing, 4 TDs, 6 INTs and 54-149 rushing with 2 TDs. Carlton Waitkins is the leading receiver in Medina-County with 23 catches for 350 yards. He set school records with 14 catches and 233 yards against Elyria Catholic three weeks ago.

Clearview started the season with a 45-6 thrashing against Elyria Catholic. Since then, it’s been one-sided victories against Vermilion, Fairview, and Wellington.

The Clippers are living life without superstar running back Anthony Hitchens. He’s now at Iowa and the Clippers haven’t missed a beat. They feature a four man rushing attack that have picked up the slack with senior quarterback Davon Daniels, and running backs Matt Jordan, DeShawn Carter and Chad Anderson.

Both head coaches Billy Burke (Buckeye) and Mike Collier (Clearview) are in their 4th season at their respective schools.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lorain County High School Football Week 5 Predictions

Half way through the season. Can you believe it? Here are my predictions for the week with the winner listed in bold.

Buckeye at Clearview - I will covering this game for WOBL radio - tune in to 1320 AM or listen online

Midview @ Bay
Avon @ North Ridgeville
Fairview @ Vermilion
Marion Harding @ Lorain
Parma @ Elyria
St. Thomas Aquinas @ Elyria Catholic
Keystone @ Columbia
Wellington @ Lutheran West
Avon Lake @ North Olmsted
Brookside @ Brooklyn
Black River @ Oberlin
Rocky River @ Firelands
Westlake @ Amherst


Week 1: 4-7
Week 2: 10-3
Week 3: 10-2
Week 4: 11-3

Season total: 35-15

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lorain County High School Football – Team Rankings

After four weeks of high school, here are the best and the worst of Lorain County:
  1. Elyria Catholic 4-0 – Huge win last night against Columbus Bishop Hartley. After blowing out their first three opponents, the Panthers proved they can win a grind it out game.

  2. Avon 4-0 – The win in Week 1 vs. Avon Lake put the Eagles on the map. Convincing wins against Wellington, Lorain, and Rocky River proves it wasn't a fluke.

  3. Amherst 4-0 – This team has a lot of firepower on offense. QB Brennan Hosier is the most underrated player in the county.

  4. Avon Lake 3-1 – Has rebounded from the week 1 setback vs. Avon. Last night's victory against Olmsted Falls should put Shoremen fans at ease.

  5. North Ridgeville 3-1 – Puzzling loss to Westlake in week 1. The Rangers have rebounded and could make some noise in the West Shore Conference. Huge game this week vs. Avon.

  6. Clearview 3-1 – Gained a measure of revenge against Wellington last night. The Clippers have a new look and are more of a grind it out team. Listen to Clearview’s next game against Buckeye this Friday night.

  7. Columbia 3-1 – This team will contend in the Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division. Last night’s win against Black River showed the Raiders are as tough as anybody. QB John Banyasz is another underrated player in Lorain County.

  8. Keystone 2-2 – Will have a difficult task next week against Columbia.

  9. Midview 2-2 – The jury is still out on this team. Two wins in a row against Buckeye and Vermilion shows they can beat bad teams.

  10. Brookside 2-2 - The Cardinals look much improved this year and started the year with four straight home games. Tough loss last night to Lutheran West.

  11. Elyria 1-3 – The Pioneers play in the very tough Northeast Ohio Conference. Their defense has proven they cannot stop anybody.

  12. Lorain 1-3 – Struggling to score points. The win against Midview in week 1 was a great victory for the new high school and the city of Lorain. Since then the Titans have not scored a TD.

  13. Wellington 0-4 – Only 30 players in the program, the Dukes will struggle all season.

  14. Firelands 1-3 – Assistant Coach Mike Passerello takes over after head coach Todd Pooch was placed on administrative leave. Lost last night to previously winless Bay.

  15. Vermilion 0-4 – – It’s going to be a long season for the Sailors.

  16. Oberlin 0-4 – It’s going to take some time for new coach Fred Howery to implement his program. Lost 44-0 at home to Akron Kenmore who has now won 4 times since 2005. The Phoenix followed that up with a loss to previously winless Buckeye.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Columbia vs. Black River tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight from the sidelines of Black River High School as the Pirates host the Columbia Raiders in the Patriot Athletic Conference opener for both teams. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and color commentator Darryl Maynard.

For visiting Columbia (2-1), they are off to their best start since 2006 when they won their first three games of the season. After a 30-22 setback in week 1 against Cleveland Central Catholic, the Raiders have defeated South Central 41-14 and Newbury by a score of 47-14.

Columbia has an experienced team.
  • Four seniors on their offensive line
  • Junior QB John Banyasz who has started 21 games in his varsity career
  • Junior RB Brandon Heidinger who has been a starter since he was a freshman; rushed for 1000 yards in 2009 and rushed for 110 yards and 2 TDs in the win over Newbury.
  • Returning 10 starters on both sides of the ball.
Black River has an 0-3 record for the sixth straight season. All 18 losses came against Western Reserve (34-7 in 2010), Northwestern (18-15), and Manchester (21-3).

The Pirates have some experience as well:
  • Both senior running backs Jake O’Connor and Matt Joppek return. Joppek is coming off of two straight 1,000 yard seasons.
  • LB John Sas returns this year after receiving 2nd-team all-Ohio honors in 2009.
Despite starting 0-3, the Pirates have rebounded each of the last five years to have a winning record in Patriot Athletic Conference play.

Last year, Black River was victorious at Columbia 53-20.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Lorain County High School Football Week 4 Predictions

Week 4 is coming up. Here are my predictions with the winner listed in bold.

Columbia at Black River - I will covering this game for WOBL radio - tune in to 1320 AM or listen online

Elyria at Mayfield
Vermilion at Midview
Rocky River at Avon
Firelands at Bay
Fairiview at North Ridgeville
Lorain at Sandusky
North Olmsted at Amherst
Olmsted Falls at Avon Lake
Bishop Hartley at Elyria Catholic
Oberlin at Buckeye
Clearview at Wellington
Brooklyn at Keystone
Lutheran West at Brookside


Week 1: 4-7
Week 2: 10-3
Week 3: 10-2

Season total: 24-12

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

NY Jets = overrated

Ravens 10, Jets 9

Monday night's NFL game at the new Meadowlands Stadium was billed as an AFC Championship game between two teams expected to have strong seasons and ready to break into the New England-Indy-Pittsburgh stranglehold on the AFC.

The Baltimore Ravens look ready to join that group. However, someone forgot to tell the NY Jets.

The Jets have made headlines all summer.
  • Big-name acquisitions like LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie
  • HBO and NFL Films featured the Jets for the TV show "Hard Knocks"
  • The head coach Rex Ryan making Super Bowl guarantees and feuding with fans and media, including former coach Tony Dungy, for excessive use of expletives.
  • Now the NFL is investigating the Jets for inappropriate actions when visited by a female reporter during practice last Saturday.
  • Opening of a new stadium and playing their first regular-season game on Monday night.
All of this makes the Jets a sexy pick for the Super Bowl – not any more.

The Jets' offense was shockingly bad: 6 first downs, 1-11 on third down, 60 yards passing - against the Ravens defense missing two starters in the secondary. The Jets almost had more penalty yards than total yards on offense.

Cleveland Browns fans will see Jake Delhomme's struggles at QB and wish they had Mark Sanchez. Let's look at the Jets QB: he has a pro-bowl left tackle (D’Brickashaw Ferguson), pro-bowl center (Nick Mangold), pro-bowl receiver (Braylon Edwards), and a hall of fame running back (Tomlinson). It's time Sanchez starts getting it done.

The Jets are good at drawing people's attention. Now let's see how they play football with a target on their chest.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Cleveland Browns and NFL reactions

Bucs 17, Browns 14
The Browns let one get away yesterday. They played horrible and lost to a bad team with a 2nd year quarterback who has a broken thumb. I'm sure this season Cleveland will win a game that it has no business winning but the Tampa Bay game stings a bit.

I wonder how bad Jake Delhomme was injured. Looks like his ankle or foot was hurting him on his throws. His decision-making was still very questionable.

Given that the Browns should have ran the ball more often. I know Peyton Hillis fumbled twice but given the rain, the Delhomme injury, and Tampa couldn't stop it, Cleveland should have been running the ball.

I'm happy with the defense overall, both Tampa TDs came on a short field. However, the lack of pass rush is still alarming. Yes, the Browns recorded three sacks but it seemed the only way Cleveland could pressure Bucs QB Josh Freeman is by blitzing. They got caught in a blitz on the game winning TD. Hopefully when Shaun Rogers is on the field more often, the pocket will collapse more often. Let's hope.

Steelers 15, Falcons 9 - big win for Pittsburgh. Today's game shows that it's Troy Polamalu who is the team MVP and not Ben Roethlisberger. Just a total lost weekend for Atlanta. They catch a break with the schedule when Big Ben sits in their game but will be available when Pittsburgh plays New Orleans. The Falcons don't have to play Minnesota. Instead the Saints win and the Falcons lost to the Steelers minus Roethlisberger. Not to mention this is a big confidence boost for Dennis Dixon.

Bears 19, Lions 14 - the officials made the wrong call on Calvin Johnson's touchdown catch in the final minute of the Bears-Lions game. Once again, a lack of common sense ruins the end of the game.

Patriots 38, Bengals 24 - I'm curious to see in the coming weeks whether New England is going to be very good or Cincinnati is very over-rated. Chad Ochocinco had a huge day - I'll have to check out his reality show to see if he's a hit with the ladies now. Neither Ochocinco or Terrell Owens were on the field for a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half because they had left early for the locker room - OOPS.

Texans 34, Colts 24 - hard to believe it's the first win for Houston against Indianapolis. How long have they been in the league?

Golf take: Congratulations to Myrtle Beach's Dustin Johnson for winning this week's BMW tournament at Cog Hill. After blowing up in the final at the US Open and taking a tough penalty at PGA to miss the play-off, the golf gods needed to make good with Johnson. He may have a shot to win the Fed Ex Cup next week.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Kenmore vs. Oberlin tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight from the sidelines of Oberlin High School as the Phoenix host Kenmore High School. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and color commentator Darryl Maynard.

The match-up features two teams that are traditionally also-ran programs. Although Oberlin had some success recently under coach Dave McFarland, Fred Howery takes over this year and inherits a program with 32 players and just six seniors. One of those seniors is Shane Ramsey who is a three-year starter at left tackle whose father Jeff is the football head coach at Oberlin College.

The Phoenix start the year 0-2 after losing to Columbus South 20-7 in week 1 and McDonald 35-6 in week 2. The game against Bulldogs was close as it was a 7-7 game in the 4th quarter. Last week, McDonald led 35-0 at halftime and Oberlin held the Blue Devils scoreless in the 2nd half.

Kenmore is 0-2 in 2010 and has a 12 game losing streak (49 losses in the last 52 games dating back to 2005). Their Head Coach is 56 year old Ed Peltz who returns to coaching after a 21 year layoff. He retired from teaching last May and was the head coach for 9 years in the 80’s culminating in a three year stint at Kenmore from 1987 to 1989.

Both teams have had three winless seasons in the last 10 years. Kenmore: 2006, 2007, 2009, Oberlin: 2002, 2004 and 2006. The two teams played at Oberlin last year with the Phoenix winning 46-10.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Lorain County High School Football Week 3 Predictions

On to Week 3 of high school football. Here are my predictions with the winner listed in bold.

Akron Kenmore at Oberlin - I will covering this game for WOBL radio - tune in to 1320 AM or listen online

Elyria Catholic at Elyria
Avon at Lorain
Amherst at Vermilion
Columbia at Newbury
Clearview at Fairview
Toledo Woodward at Brookside
St. Jean de Brebeuf at Avon Lake
Wellington at Edison
North Ridgeville at Cloverleaf
Buckeye at Midview
Keystone at Firelands

Week 1: 4-7
Week 2: 10-3

Season total: 14-10

Friday, September 3, 2010

Wellington vs. Avon tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight from the sidelines of the Wellington Avon game. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and color commentator Darryl Maynard.

Avon & Wellington meet in week 2 as a pair of longtime rivals. Avon has had the better of the series winning the last three games and five of six.

Avon is coming off a huge win last week as they upset Avon Lake at the Shoremen’s brand new $2.8 million dollar facility. The Eagles defense led the way forcing five Avon Lake turnovers and shutting down the Shoremen offense. Although Avon rotated quarterbacks on Friday between Justin O’Rourke and Cody Schroeder, it was Schroder who had the hot hand with 11 for 18 passing for 188 yards including a 54 yard TD pass to Matt Eckhardt and a 53 yard TD pass to Ralph Smith.

Wellington is coming off a 7-6 loss vs. Norwayne. The Dukes defense was tough allowing only eight first downs. Typically, the Dukes run the Wing-T offense but they promise to throw more this year. Against Norwayne, Wellington passed 33 times for 128 yards.

Last year’s game between Avon and Wellington was a tight affair that wasn’t decided until late with Avon’s Kevin Krakora scoring the go ahead TD and then sealing the win with an interception. The Eagles prevailed 29-25.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Lorain County High School Football Week 2 Predictions

The season is off and rolling. Here are my predictions with the winner listed in bold.

Wellington @ Avon - I will covering this game for WOBL radio - tune in to 1320 AM or listen online

Shaker Heights @ Avon Lake
Midview @ Amherst
Vermillion @ Clearview
Parma @ Lorain
Elyria @ North Olmsted
Buckeye @ Elyria Catholic
North Ridgeville @ Lakewood
Keystone @ Chippewa
South Central @ Columbia
New London @ Firelands
Rittman @ Brookside
Oberlin @ McDonald