Maple Leaf Basketball Special Section 2021

Geauga County Maple Leaf

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By Jamie Ward

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Geauga County Maple Leaf

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Berkshire Badgers Boys

Badgers Look to Build, Improve Over Last Season

By Rich Kelly The Berkshire Badgers had a decent season last year. This year, with the addition of a couple of new faces, they look to have a more successful season.

A postseason run is also in the mix for Head Coach Ryan Dickard. In his fourth season, Dickard sees a young team still learning to find its own identity.

Berkshire hopes for a new start.

“We’re really a young team, experience-wise,” Dickard said.

“At the same time, we have some good athletes who real-

Bryndal

Czekaj

11/24 Edgewood 3 p.m.* 11/27 Southeast 6:30 p.m.

12/1 Cuyahoga Hts. 7 p.m.

12/8 @Kirtland 7 p.m.

12/15 @Crestwood 7 p.m.

12/21 @Mogadore 7 p.m.

12/29 Lutheran West 7 p.m.

1/5 Grand Valley 7 p.m.

1/8 Garfield 7 p.m.

1/11 @Wickliffe 7 p.m.

1/14 @Brooklyn 7 p.m.

1/15 Chardon 6:30 p.m.

1/18 Cardinal 7 p.m.

1/22 @Saint John 3 p.m.

1/25 @Kirtland 7 p.m.

1/28 @Trinity 7:30 p.m.

1/29 @Rootstown 7 p.m.

2/1 Crestwood 7 p.m.

2/4 @Grand Valley 7 p.m.

2/8 Wickliffe 7 p.m.

2/11 @Cardinal 7 p.m. *Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

ly want to play. I’m still trying to figure this team out as to where who fits best in certain areas, but I’m also seeing some strengths starting to show.

“We have a solid core to start with and build on, so I’m hoping to work things into a good eight- or nine-man rotation most of the time.”

He has a pair of solid seniors to build from in Isaac Potter and Ethan Bryndal.

“I’m really looking forward to this program getting into the new gym,” Potter said. “That’s a big if right now, with the de-

Mendolera

Potter

lays we’re dealing with, but that is the goal down the road.

It doesn’t change any of our expectations of ourselves either.

We want to work hard for each other to have a good season.”

Bryndal brings size and attitude to his only season at Berkshire after his family moved to the Burton community from Mentor.

“We have some high expectations on what we want to get done here,” Bryndal said. “I’m new here, but this is a great bunch of guys to work with, they have accepted me into the family of Berkshire, and I just want to play my hardest for them at all times.”

In preseason scrimmages, both have shown the ability to be a force inside, along with Potter, providing inside scoring and rebounding.

Size is not in abundance this season for the Badgers, so those two things will be a big part of successes for the team.

The Badgers ended a recent practice with a 3-point shooting contest, seeking to hit 75 long shots in five minutes.

While they fell a couple of baskets short of the goal, the successes came in bunches, which might be a handy tactic during games.

Junior Joey Czekaj has a

positive outlook on the season, no matter where it’s played.

“I think we have a lot of talent on this team, “ he said. “We really are looking to improve on our record from last season, then hopefully to set ourselves up for a post season run. I think it’s really possible if we stay focused on what coach has us doing right now.”

Sophomore Mason Mendolera is excited to be part of the blend with his team as they prepare for a season of hope.

Mendolera played a lot of minutes as a freshman and is ready to take on a leading role in his second year.

“Our only focus right now is to work to get more wins,” he said. “Every practice I want to improve my own skills within a team setting and to get better.

If we work hard, we can get things done well here.”

“There are just so many things up in the air right now for us,” the coach said. “It’s nice to have so many good athletes to work with, though. The kids know success from what the boys soccer team and football team got done this year, and hard work should carry us well whether we are playing here or in the new building.

The future is bright and we have a lot to look forward to.”

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Berkshire Badgers Girls

Badgers Plan to Badger Foes with Balanced Team

By Rich Kelly The Berkshire Badgers girls basketball team, making adjustments last season, pushed to an 8-8 season.

With the loss of only one senior from that team, this year’s version will draw upon the things they learned working together to improve togetherness being the key factor.

The Badgers don’t have a lot of size to replace the inside presence of graduate Mollty Chapman, but their quickness and desires to work as a unit all the time will give them a good focal point to build on.

Emotions play a huge part for Head Coach James Bosley’s team, but this season’s band of Badgers will be the last to play in the current high school gym.

Bosley has a photo of the new floor, and he is all smiles talking about it.

“This new building will be spectacular for us to play in,” he said before a recent scrimmage in the current gym. “This gym is pretty nice now, but the new one will be massive compared to this one in size and seating capacity.

“Even the middle school gym is a little bigger than this one, so it will be a great expe-

rience once we can get into the building. If things pick up a bit in material supply, we may get to open the gym in late January or February, but that is a long way off and is undecided at this point.”

Meanwhile, Bosley has a group of 20 players to build. He is enthusiastic with the prospects for his girls.

His basic starting five appears to be senior Lydia Kastor, senior Kylie Neumore, junior Maddy Triskett, junior Caroline Kuchling and sophomore Leah Stoddard.

Bosley will build his roster into a seven- or eight-player rotation in normal games.

One thing the Badgers don’t have, though, is a dominant post player with size, so Bosley is looking at playing up-tempo basketball that thrives on swarming to the ball defensively first.

“Our lack of size overall means we will need to play more up-tempo, but with eight letter-winners back from last season, I think we will compete well against anybody, especially in the CVC,” Bosley said.

Points will come on the heels of pressure defense, which begins with Kastor.

“We’ve executed things well the last couple of years, and we’ve developed a really good

Kastor

Kuchling

Neumore 11/16 11/24 11/30 12/3 12/7 12/10 12/14 12/17 12/21 12/28 1-4 1/7 1/10 1/12 1/15 1/19 1/21 1/26 1/29 2/2 2/5

group on this team,” Kastor said. “I think we may be a small team, but we will play with great personality.”

Kastor will provide points from all over the floor.

Caroline Kuchling, a junior, has become a defensive specialist, but last season also showed she can score when needed.

“I’ve become a good defensive player,” she said. “At the same time, our goal as a team is to succeed for our school and program.”

Neumore has a little different outlook on the season.

Triskett

@Hawken 5:30 p.m.

Edgewood 1:30 p.m.* @Cardinal 6 p.m. @Cuyahoga Hts. 7 p.m. @Kirtland 7 p.m.

Independence 7 p.m.

Crestwood 7 p.m. @Lutheran West 7 p.m.

Chagrin Falls 7 p.m. @Columbiana 5:30 p.m.

Grand Valley 7 p.m. @Brooklyn 7 p.m. @Chardon 7:30 p.m.

Wickliffe 7 p.m. @Richmond Hts. 1 p.m.

Cardinal 7 p.m.

Trinity 7 p.m.

Kirtland 7 p.m. @Crestwood 2:30 p.m. @Grand Valley 7 p.m. @Wickliffe 1 p.m. *Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

“I’ve seen the new gym, and frankly, it’s great but I like this one more,” she said. “My main goal is to just play hard for a good season, hopefully to win a championship, and then be able to cut the nets down in this building for the last time. That will be special.”

Being a guard-heavy team, Bosley will need to keep constant flow going, but he has the talent to get the job done.

The team will play an early contest at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Cardinal Huskies Boys

Huskies Expected to Run Toward First League Title

By Haley Adams The Cardinal Huskies are entering the 2021-2022 season with a very specific goal in mind — compete for a Chagrin Valley Conference title, something records say has never happened, even when the conference changed names from ESC to CVC. This goal becomes possible when Head Coach Jon Cummins returns four players in his starting five.

Returning for the Huskies will be leading scorer Jacob

Bean 11/26 12/2 12/6 12/9 12/13 12/17 12/21 12/23 12/28 1/3 1/6 1/11 1/18 1/21 1/25 1/28 2/1 2/4 2/8 2/11 2/18

Detweiler Chalker Garfield @Wickliffe Independence @Mathews @Kirtland @Fairport Brooklyn Py Valley Chardon Crestwood @Grand Valley @Berkshire Trinity Wickliffe @Cuyahoga Hts. Kirtland @Crestwood Grand Valley Berkshire @Lutheran West

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Bean. Bean will play as a small forward, and will look to be a scoring threat for his opponents. The Huskies will look to the junior as a vocal leader on the floor.

“We are a smaller five, and we’re definitely going to need to get a lot more rebounds,” Bean said. “Our shooting, our dribbling, and ball handling are all going to be there this year.”

Another junior looking to provide leadership on the court is center Paul Gall. Gall, the tallest player the Huskies

Gall

Soltis

have, stands 6 feet 3 inches and is ready to be the team’s only “big.”

“My role as a center is to rebound and pass the ball,” Gall said. “We don’t have much size this year, and last year I was a forward and center mix, but now I’m just a center, and I have to get rebounds.”

Gall averaged seven rebounds per game last season.

He plans to see that statistic increase this season.

The Huskies will look to junior Ethan Detweiler to play as the floor general. The junior posted three points and three assists per game last year.

“I need to facilitate the floor and make sure that the ball is moving, and that we are all in the right spots on defense,” said Detweiler. “Making sure we are talking as a team.”

Sophomore Troy Domen will find himself in the starting lineup for the second time in a row. Domen averaged 10.8 points per game, and will make the switch from point guard to shooting guard this season.

Coach Cummins and company are looking to find their final piece in their starting lineup, but Cummins feels comfortable in someone stepping up to fill that role during the preseason.

“We have a deep bench for the first time in many years since I’ve coached at Cardinal.

Ten or 11 guys will see the varsity floor most nights,” Cummins said.

Seniors Anthony Soltis, Trace Filla and Payden Swiger look to be a scoring opportunity for the Huskies.

To overcome the differences in size, Soltis emphasized the importance of hard work during practices and scrimmages.

“Size is a big thing, and we’re a pretty small team. We need to work hard during practices,” said Soltis.

Besides the Berkshire game, the Huskies are eager to play the Hilltoppers of Chardon, a team the Huskies know will challenge and push them.

“They have a lot of size, which is a disadvantage for us, but we have guards who will run the floor,” said Gall.

Cardinal will host Chardon Jan. 3 starting at 7 p.m. The Huskies first test in the CVC will be at Wickliffe Dec. 6.

If Cardinal’s game plan of being a fast-paced team is realized, the Huskies goal of winning their first league title in school history can become a reality.

Geauga County Maple Leaf

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Cardinal Huskies Girls

Huskies’ Heart, Hard Work Outweighing Low Numbers

By Haley Adams The Cardinal Huskies bring back six varsity letter-winners from a season ago, including three starters. A team that finished 6-16 is looking to improve not only those numbers, but the roster numbers in their program.

“Although we have 10 players in the program, I think we can compete,” said third-year Head Coach Joe DiMattia.

Leading the Huskies in her fourth year is guard Haley Domen. She averaged 16 points, 3.7 assists and 4 steals per game.

“She does it all,” DiMattia said. “Leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season, she can play any position on the court, offense or defense.”

Domen will have her senior counterpart Lindsay Hissa to help lighten the load on offense.

“She has come in and it looks like she hasn’t missed a beat at all in those two years,” said DiMattia on the impact Hissa has had on the team. “She can get to the hoop, defend well, and is the type of the girl who will keep working on whatever needs to be done to become a better player. She pushes herself to get better, and responds to criticism well.”

Junior Ronee Collins will

look to be a strong shooting guard for the Huskies.

As a sophomore, she scored 10.8 points per game.

“I feel like I have a better chance of scoring behind the arc than driving to the hoop,” Collins said.

She can do just that, as she helped lead the team with 3-pointers attempted and made last season.

Another player looking to make an impact in the paint is junior Hailey Keller.

Taking last season off as well, Keller is drawing the attention of her coaches early.

“She has all three coaches on her back every day, but all three of us see what she can do with some more hard work and confidence,” said DiMattia.

Rounding out the starting five includes defensive specialist junior Cassie Nguyen. The junior might have put in the most work over the offseason.

“She and her father are up at the YMCA during the summer working on all aspects of her game,” said DiMattia. “She is also one of the most coachable players on the team, and always has a positive attitude and always gives 100 percent on whatever drill or activity we are doing.”

“I really want to lock down on my defense this year, and

Collins

Domen

Hissa 11/19 11/22 11/26 11/30 12/1 12/3 12/7 12/10 12/14 12/17 12/28 1-4 1/7 1/12 1/19 1/22 1/24 1/26 1/29 2/2 2/5 2/12

really bring the energy. I want to focus on having my team’s back,” said Nguyen.

Looking at the bench, players include senior Megan Ehrhart and sophomores Anna Layman and Carly Ayer. Freshmen Brenna Simak and Mel Marn could find minutes on the court as well.

Cardinal is looking to beat the disadvantage of having low numbers this year.

Domen talked about just that.

“We’re going to be conditioned, and we aren’t going to give up. We do the simple things, and we come together as

Nguyen @Windham @Beachwood Chalker Berkshire LaBrae @Independence Wickliffe Lutheran West Kirtland @Brooklyn Py Valley @Crestwood Richmond Hts. Grand Valley @Berkshire Cuyahoga Hts. @Trinity @Wickliffe @Kirtland Crestwood @Grand Valley St. John Paul

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a team to win,” said Domen.

Hissa added that playing smart basketball will be a key for her team’s success.

“When we play smart, it makes up for a lot of things,” said Hissa.

Helping DiMattia on the sideline will be second-year assistant coaches Kim Domen and Chuc Nguyen.

The Huskies open up their season against Windham Nov. 19th. A tough matchup against CVC foe Beachwood will be the first conference test for the team.

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Chagrin Falls Tigers Boys

New Look Tigers Looking to Contend for CVC Title

By Alan Kornspan Dave Bargar enters his 16th season as the head coach for the Chagrin Falls varsity boys basketball team. After a successful 8-5 season in the 2020-21 pandemic-shortened campaign, Bargar is looking forward to playing a full season this year.

“The kids are working hard,” Bargar said. “They have a lot of enthusiasm which is fantastic to see in this early part of the season.”

Castelluccio

Crandall

The Tigers will have a relatively new group of varsity players this season as 10 seniors graduated last year.

The Tigers are expected to be led by Max Crandall, Nick Vinci, Henry Newell, Ryan Castelluccio and James Kosmides.

“All five of these guys together, we need them to play at their best for us to be successful,” Bargar said.

On the offensive end of the court, Bargar discussed the Tigers’ consistent offensive philosophy.

Kosmides

Vinci

11/24 Riverside 11 a.m.

11/30 Kenston 7 p.m.

12/4 Beachwood 6:30 p.m.

12/8 @West Geauga 7 p.m.

12/11 @Perry 6:30 p.m.

12/15 Orange 7 p.m.

12/18 Lakeside 6:30 p.m.

12/21 @Twinsburg 7:30 p.m.

12/29 @Chardon 6 p.m.

1/5 @Hawken 7 p.m.

1/8 @Geneva 2:30 p.m.

1/11 @Richmond Hts. 7 p.m.

1/14 Harvey 7 p.m.

1/18 @Beachwood 7 p.m.

1/21 @Edgewood 7 p.m.

1/25 West Geauga 7 p.m.

1/28 @Gilmour 7 p.m.

2/1 @Orange 7 p.m.

2/4 Hawken 7 p.m.

2/8 Richmond Hts. 7 p.m.

2/12 @NDCL 7 p.m.

2/15 Aurora 7 p.m.

2/19 Streetsboro 6:30 p.m.

“Offensively we don’t change,” said the coach. “We focus on ball movement, making the extra pass, being unselfish. That’s what we always focus on. We take pride in our unselfishness and sharing the basketball.”

Added junior captain Max Crandall: “We really have a balanced five, and so our offense is just kind of sharing the ball, getting really good shots, playing smart.”

Bargar noted that forward Castelluccio will be an integral part of the Tigers offense this season.

“He’s kind of the glue to our team,” said Bargar. “He does everything really well.

He’s such a cerebral player, terrific passer, and can shoot the three with a lot of consistency.”

Added Castelluccio: “I feel like any guy can lead the team in scoring on any given night.

We all have different skill sets, but I think we all are pretty talented.”

On the defensive end of the court, Bargar emphasized that the Tigers will adjust their defensive style to the type of offense they are guarding.

“Versatility is really what our key word is on the defensive end,” said Bargar. “We

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don’t get locked into one thing defensively. We can play, man, zone, press a little bit if we need to. We want to find what works for us on that particular night.”

Junior Captain James Kosmides commented on the important role that he will have on the defensive side of the ball.

“My role is to probably play more defense, rebounds, the little things on the court,” said Kosmides.

Kosmides emphasized the importance of one’s emotions and energy.

“The biggest thing for defense is staying poised, staying aggressive and keeping energy, honestly, throughout the game,” he said,.

“A lot of teams get tired throughout the game so as long as we all keep energy, that is the most important thing on defense.”

“As far as winning and losing, we don’t really talk about that a whole lot in our program.

We just want to do things the right way from the beginning.

And if we take care of what we are supposed to take care of our record will be where it needs to be.”

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Chagrin Falls Tigers Girls

Versatile Tigers Guards Hungry for Conference Title

By Haley Adams In Brittany Laseak’s 12th season as the Tigers’ head coach, she’s never felt a group more interchangeable than the group of athletes she has now.

Laseak is eager to see her team get to work in the beginning of the season, especially the versatile guards in the backcourt.

“We are more guard-oriented this year, so the pace of play will definitely pick up compared to past seasons,” said Laseak.

“We’ve talked about how all of the spots on the floor are interchangeable, which will make it a lot easier to be fresh at each position. It will be important to push tempo, but also maintain control.”

The Tigers started late because of the success of the varsity girls soccer team, when senior Peyton Gellin and company clinched a state title in the fall.

“It will set us back in our preparation for the season, but it is promising that we have such motivated individuals,” Laseak said.

Gellin will look to lead her team again, this time on the basketball court. She is one of a handful of guards that will look to push the pace on offense.

“I love the chance that I get to lead, and that I get to take this team, with the seniors included, as our own,” Gellin said. “We’re a little shorter this year than we’re used to, but defensively we are super strong.

We are fast and getting down the court, pushing the ball in transition, and getting some quick baskets.”

Senior and recently transferred Lilly Wolf will play both the guard and small forward positions. When asked what this year’s team will look like, she too talked about the speed of her teammates.

“We are doing a lot of fastpaced fundamentals, especially losing last year’s senior class.

A lot of our girls can play multiple positions, which allows us to not have a specific type of flow when we are transitioning from offense to defense,” Wolf said. “This allows us to throw the other team off.”

Senior Madalyn Couch will be another player who can score from anywhere on the court and defend any opposing player.

“I’m willing to help the underclassmen feel comfortable, expanding their position, and not just sticking to ball handling,” Couch said.

Couch’s minutes will in-

Couch

Daugherty

crease from a season ago.

Senior guard Aubree Daugherty plans to help fill the missing roles from the class of 2021.

“I’m really looking to handle the ball and help some of the underclassmen to fill some of the spots that we lost from the graduating seniors last season. We are hoping to advance a couple rounds in the playoffs this year; that’s a big goal of ours,” said Daugherty.

Kate Bartlett will be another player to watch as a junior

Gellin

Wolf

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Mayfield 2:30 p.m. @Crestwood 7 p.m. @Beachwood 6 p.m.

Perry 7 p.m.

West Geauga 7 p.m. @Lakeside 7 p.m. @Orange 7 p.m.

Geneva 7 p.m. @Berkshire 7 p.m. @Chardon 7 p.m.

Hawken 7 p.m. @Harvey 7 p.m.

Kirtland 7 p.m. @Kenston 7 p.m.

Edgewood 2:30 p.m.

Beachwood 7 p.m. @West Geauga 2:30 p.m.

Orange 7 p.m. @Hawken 12:30 p.m.

Lake Catholic 7 p.m. @Streetsboro 2:30 p.m.

Cuyahoga Hts. 7 p.m.

who can play big minutes at the guard and small forward positions.

The Tigers return five letterwinners from last season, just one starter, and seven newcomers. If this team can mesh well before the conference schedule begins, Chagrin Falls could make a strong push for the conference title in the Chagrin division. The Wolverines and Tigers will square off for the first time on Jan. 22, a game that could decipher who wins the conference title.

Page 10

Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Chardon Hilltoppers Boys

Hilltoppers Hope to Continue Success on Court

By Jamie Ward Chardon knows there will be no shortage of points on the offensive end, with five starters that can score 20 points or more on any given night.

But defense is what this team will need to turn the corner on a successful 14-11 season from a year ago.

Which is what Chad Murawski, starting his sixth season, was talking about at practice weeks before the Hilltoppers season was to begin.

“I want you to jam him, push

Faber 12/10 12/17 12/21 12/22 12/23 12/29 12/30 1/3 1/7 1/11 1/14 1/15 1/18 1/21 1/25 1/29 2/1 2/4 2/8 2/11 2/15 2/18

Madison South West Geauga @Kirtland North Chagrin Falls Geneva @Cardinal Riverside @NDCL @Mayfield @Berkshire @Shaw Kenston JFK Aurora @Madison @South @North @Riverside Mayfield @Kenston

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him,” Murawski said. “Push him.”

Chardon was doing its best to practice — as of this writing, the football team was still playing — without its likely starting five.

Nathanael Sulka, Trey Liebhardt, Josh Bruce, Nathan Tager and Alex Henry project as those starters.

“We embrace it,” Murawski said. “It’s not like those football guys are sitting around doing nothing. They are competing, they are conditioning, and they are learning how to win. And

Zeiger

that’s one thing Chardon football does an unbelievable job of.

It doesn’t matter how rusty they are. They are winners.”

The team pushed its first game back almost two weeks to accommodate.

Nathanael Sulka, a slasher to the hoop, can score 20 to 30 points on any given night. He’s 15 points away from 1,000 in his career.

Liebhardt steps into the leadership role as an athletic point guard. Tager, another scorer, had a huge role on the team last season. “He plays like nine sports,” Murawski said.

Alexy Henry, the varsity quarterback, is a leader and the team’s “juice guy,” Murawski said. “He’s a loud kid. Some of the other kids are quieter. But Henry is in the gym, he has a presence about him.”

Bruce is a long, athletic shooter.

The team’s style will be the same: run the floor and play tough man-to-man defense.

Jacob Zeiger and Zach Kalis, important players off the bench, are the two other seniors on the team. And Murawski has learned to rely on his senior class.

“We’re doing great so far with intensity,” Zeiger said. “We are working on fundamentals.

I’m here to lift spirits up and

help people. I just want to be a good spirit to the team.”

Ethan Faber, who prides himself on defense and likes to run the floor, will be the first kid off the bench for the team.

“Everyone who is here is working, and we feel good about the season,” Faber said. “I feel like we’re going to keep rolling this year. There’s going to be a carryover.”

The Hilltoppers lost in double overtime in the district finals a season ago.

“We hit a shot at the buzzer,” the coach said. “These kids are going to be battle-tested. We are ready and excited.”

Sophomore Sammy Sulka is the last Sulka, capping off a run of the Chardon basketball dynasty featuring Alex, Benjamin, and current teammate and brother Nathanael.

Program numbers are high, with three full teams freshman through varsity.

Chardon also embraces its home court advantage at the high school gymnasium, nicknamed The Barn because of it’s second level of seating on the home side.

“It’s awesome. If I’m an opponent, I hate playing here,” Murawski said. “This is a special place to play. There can be 12 people and it’s loud.”

Geauga County Maple Leaf

Page 11

Chardon Hilltoppers Girls

Fast-Paced Hilltoppers Transition Under New Coaches

By Jamie Ward For the first time in seven seasons, the Chardon girls basketball program will start a season with a new head coach after Cullen Harris left for rival Mayfield.

But the Hilltoppers are led by a familiar face in Erik Hoenigman, whose daughter Ashley graduated a year ago. Hoenigman has been an assistant with the boys program and the football program.

With a program low in numbers — just 13 total players senior through freshman — Hoenigman hopes the transition from a 15-win team a year ago is seamless.

“We’re going to be fast paced,” Hoenigman said. “We have a lot of girls who are athletic, so we want to press, we want to trap, and we want to run.”

The team’s lone senior is Riley Zimmerer. But this class of five juniors expects to make an impact, led by returning starter Emily Noerr. “(Emily) is really the only one who had major varsity minutes last year,” Hoenigman said.

“I think things are going really well,” Noerr said. “We have come a long way from our first practice, and we’re really starting to mesh together and under-

stand how each other plays.”

She added: “This is a group of hard-working kids with a lot of potential. And we just want to get better everyday. Everyone needs to play their own part.”

Zimmerer said the team is close, like “best friends.”

“It’s definitely more fastpaced, more intense for sure this year,” she said. “We like it.

We’re all hustling and trying as hard we can.”

Zimmerer didn’t see the same effort out of last season’s team.

Hoenigman has been big on the weight room early. The team ran Alpine Hill and had a lift-a-thon.

“I love where we are at,” he said. “They are working hard.

Trying to get strong. Basketball is a contact sport. We are getting them trained for that and to play physical.”

Junior Julianne Sweet has noticed. She was still a little sore at a practice last week.

“I really like it,” Sweet said.

“I think we are getting stronger and improving everyday. Also they are teaching life lessons as we go. They are making us stronger on the court and off the court.”

Sweet feels like the junior class is trying to encourage the younger players. “And we want

Landies

Noerr

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to have fun,” she said. She’s excited about the minutes she expects to play.

Junior Anna Landies knows that her class must step up in a leadership role.

“I feel like we have stepped up to the plate,” Landies said.

“Somebody has to step up and help Riley lead the team.”

She also likes the fast-paced nature of the team’s plan.

“We want shots, not turnovers,” Hoenigman said. “And we’re trying to instill confidence. Defensively, we’re going to come after you. We’re going to come at teams with traps.”

Zimmerer Geneva @Louisville @Kirtland West Geauga Madison Perry Bedford @South North Chagrin Falls Riverside Berkshire @Mayfield @Mentor Kenston @Madison South @North @Riverside Mayfield @Kenston

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Kayla Oriani and Izzie Ivanovics are the two juniors who round out the expected varsity roster. Nicole Krakora is a sophomore in the program.

Freshmen Lauren Jackson, Meadow McDonald, Abby Zeiger, Ava McDevitt, Payton Platz and Elle Deszcyzkiewicz are young players who could presumably get time either through their play or injuries.

Hoenigman has created a couple special defenses.

The team does not have a lot of height.

Page 12

Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Kenston Bombers Boys

Strong Senior Class Hopes to Impact Kenston Season

By Mason Cole The Kenston Bombers enter the 2021-22 season with hopes of competing for the Western Reserve Conference Title. After finishing last season fourth in the WRC with a 4-3 record and a 6-5 record overall, the Bombers look for team improvement.

As Kenston Head Coach Derrick DeJarnette prepares his team for the season, he is confident the Bombers’ leaders will play a large role.

“We’re very senior-heavy,” DeJarnette said. “We’ve got six

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Cowoski @University @Chagrin Falls @Nordonia @Aurora South @Madison Riverside @Mayfield @Gilmour West Geauga @North Solon @Streetsboro @Chardon Madison @South @Riverside Mayfield North Perry Chardon

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seniors this year…they bring leadership, scoring, rebounding, and just leadership. They’ve been working hard in the offseason, so I would expect a decent year from them.”

The Bombers senior class features Anthony Yohman, Sam Bryner, Nick Cowoski, Justin Ford, Andrew Kooser and Rourke McGrath. DeJarnette is expecting each of his seniors to impact different aspects of the game.

Cowoski, Kenston’s starting point guard, begins his senior year in shape and ready to

Ford

Yohman

compete after recently finishing his season with the Bombers football team. But because of his role on the football team, Cowoski has been slightly behind his teammates in terms of practice.

“For the few days I’ve been here, the intensity has been very high,” Cowoski said. “Coach is pushing us to be a better team than last year because we struggled a little bit last year.”

For Cowoski, his focus leading up to the start of the basketball season has been on learning how Kenston wants to play.

“During football, I would go to the gym and workout and play basketball, but learning the plays was a little hard,” Cowoski said. “There were a bunch of plays I had to learn in a few days, so it was a lot of film and a lot of studying off the court.”

Kenston wants to have a varied attack on offense. They will look to work the ball into the low-post to big men such as Yohman while looking for open looks for three-point shooters.

When Ford looks at the Bombers’ offense, he sees multiple ways that his team could put points on the board.

“Our big men are pretty good down low,” Ford said. “Everyone, all five of us on the court can all shoot, so I think shooting

is one of our best attributes.

And we’ve all played together for such a long time, I think we have really good chemistry.”

Chemistry will be important for the Bombers on defense as well. Kenston does not have a true shot-blocking rim-protector to contest shots close to the basket. To make up for that, Cowoski said the Bombers will look to have a scrappy, team-oriented attack on defense.

“We’re a very fast defense,” Cowoski said. “We’re smaller but we’re physical. Andrew Kooser, he gets physical, he’s a very good defender. Justin Ford is also a very good defender. I think if we all really want to play defense, the team is a very good defensive team.”

The Bombers have a common goal: winning the WRC championship and making a playoff run. The Brush Arcs have left the WRC for more teams to rise to the top.

For players such as Cowoski and Ford, the motivation to reach that goal was easy to find.

“I think all six of our seniors have a really good drive to get to that playoff run knowing that this is our last chance,” Ford said.

“We haven’t had a conference championship in a while, so we really want to grab that, too.”

Geauga County Maple Leaf

Page 13

Kenston Bombers Girls

Kenston Hopes High as Experienced Roster Returns

By Alan Kornspan John Misenko enters his fifth year coaching the Kenston girls basketball team and is looking forward to having a full season of basketball.

“Last year we only played half the season because of COVID,” Misenko said. “So this year we are hoping to get a full season of conference games.”

Kenston returns an experienced varsity team that went 14-4 during the 2020-21 season.

“We are bringing back pretty much everybody,” Misenko said. “We graduated three seniors from last year. Now we have two seniors and six juniors.”

In addition, Misenko plans to have two sophomores and one freshman as part of the varsity roster.

With such an experienced group of players, Misenko expressed his enthusiasm and optimism for an extremely successful season.

“We are really excited about this year,” Misenko said. “Our goals are the same as they always are. We want to compete to try and win the conference.

That’s goal number one, and then goal number two is to try to get as far as we can in the

playoffs.”

Helping the Kenston team go far this year will be senior all-Ohio basketball player Catara DeJarnette, who averaged 19.8 points per game last season.

“She is, in my opinion, the best guard in the area,” Misenko said. “She can do pretty much everything. She was player of the year in our conference last year. She was second team All-Ohio. So I am hoping she can get first team this year.”

DeJarnette discussed her thoughts about the upcoming season.

“We have been working hard, and hopefully the hard work pays off,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to my senior year. It’s my last year, so hopefully we can go hard and get far and see where it takes us.”

Added Brooke Pagon: “I am really excited; the new players are really doing well in practice, and I think we can make it really far.”

Kenston will look to play an up-tempo offense.

“We play fast, we like to get up and down,” Misenko said.

Added Brooke Pagon: “We definitely try to get it and go.

We try to score because we are a fast team. We try to get

Bergansky

DeJarnette

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it, score a lay-up, and then get back on defense.”

On the defensive end of the court, Misenko mentioned the important contributions that Brooke Pagon, Ramsey Smith and Samantha Bergansky will provide.

“Brooke Pagon is another point guard for us,” Misenko said. “I think she is probably one of our best defenders. She put in a lot of work in the offseason.”

Misenko also mentioned that he is expecting important contributions this season from

Pagon

@Nordonia @Hudson @Maple Hts. @Buchtel NDCL Kirtland Solon @North Chagrin Falls @Twinsburg Mentor

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Emily Kratzert, Hanna Busby, Caroline Neimes and Gabby Heard.

“I am expecting good things out of them,” said Misenko.

“Last year we lost in the district semi-finals. Obviously the goal is to get further. But our district is pretty tough this year as well as our conference.

We have to play well and stay healthy and play together, and just keep working on getting better everyday. Hopefully we will achieve what we want.”

Page 14

Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions Boys

Lions Look to Bounce Back After a Tough Season

By Mason Cole The Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin boys basketball team is looking to bounce back after finishing the 2020-21 season with a 3-14 record.

The Lions were never able to find consistency last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, one year later, the players on NDCL are hungry to find victory.

“It sure is a different feeling than last year,” Lions senior Jacob Koenig said. “We’ve been in the weight room a lot more together, we’ve been in the gym six days a week. The consisten-

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cy has been nice.”

As the Lions get back into the groove of the basketball season, they’ve been focusing on finding their team identity. With a hunger to win, NDCL is planning to come out swinging.

“We’re going to be extremely aggressive offensively this year,” Head Coach Nathan VanderSluis said. “We’ve got a good group of guys who can really put the ball on the floor, get to the rim, and also shoot the ball from three.”

The Lions players are confident about their offensive abilities.

“We can shoot the ball,” Se-

Rowan

Zucker

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nior Ryan Zucker said. “We’re just going to shoot it all day, shoot a bunch of threes, and we’re going to run up and down the court and try to outrun everyone else.”

That aggressive nature spills over to the Lions defense as well. NDCL does not have a true big man to protect the rim on defense, but VanderSluis believes that his team’s effort will make up for their lack of height.

“We don’t have anybody who is six foot five, six foot six, or six foot seven walking around,” VanderSluis said. “So, on the perimeter, we’re going to be active, we’re going to really get after guys.”

NDCL is very aware of their lack of height, but they plan to make up for it in other areas. Lions senior Marcus Rowan said his team know what is crucial to defensive success.

“Communication is key,” Rowan said. “Switching on screens and just talking. Coach VanderSluis talks about that a lot; I think talking will take us a long way, so that’s what we’re going to go for.”

When it comes to talking and being communicative on the court, VanderSluis trusts seniors Koenig, Zucker, and Rowan to lead the way. All three players have their different ways of influencing their teammates, and VanderSluis thinks they’re each vital to team success.

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“They all bring something different to the table,” VanderSluis said. “Rowan is going to be our rock-solid steady guy who does everything that he’s asked to the best of his ability. Koenig was the starting quarterback to our football team; he brings that leadership aspect, and he’s one of the hardest workers in the group…

Zucker is an extremely hard worker. He will defend every position on the floor, and he’s just going to be one of those glue guys for us.”

Despite disappointing results last season and a lack of height on defense, the Lions are a confident group. NDCL believes that they can compete at a high level, but VanderSluis wants his team to remain focused on the moment.

“We’re trying to do something special,” VanderSluis said.

“The only way we accomplish that is by showing up every day and working our butts off. That’s going to be our philosophy.”

VanderSluis, 36, now in his third season, coached the NDCL freshmen during the 2016-17 season.

He graduated from Oak Harbor in 2001 before he played at Miami (Ohio), where he was a teammate of Brush coach Chet Mason. As a senior, the 6-11 center started all 28 of the team’s games.

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Geauga County Maple Leaf

Page 15

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions Girls

NDCL Girls Bonding, Growing Under New Coach

By Mason Cole The Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions girls basketball team looks to start its 2021-22 season strong after an 11-9 finish last year.

NDCL is looking to play strong, fundamental basketball, and will be led by first-year head coach John Kamkutis. Kamkutis worked with the Lions as an assistant coach for three years but is excited to lead his players after the departure of former coach Brian Arth.

“I think it’s a great group of kids,” Kamkutis said. “They’re intelligent, they’re smart, they’re picking stuff up, we’re doing a lot of stuff that’s carrying over, so I’m excited about it.”

As NDCL prepares for the season, Kamkutis is attempting to instill a simple philosophy for winning into his players.

“Offensively our philosophy is to score at least one more point than the other team,” Kamkutis said. “We have some strong skills when we’re structured. Defensively we’ll be pretty strong as well. Hopefully we’re going to get a lot of points off of our defense.”

The Lions expect strong play from returning players Raegann Leininger, Francesca Carlo, and Melissa Brownlee.

Carlo and Leininger, entering their senior years with the Lions,

both hope to help their team reach success. Carlo believes that her team feels good about its chances as they prepare for the year.

“I definitely think we’re feeling really optimistic,” Carlo said. “I think it is an all-time high for our team bonding. We’re really feeling like a family this year, wherein other years we may not have as much.”

NDCL’s team chemistry has been a focus for the players.

From learning each other’s nuisances on the court to spending time together off the court, the Lions have made sure they’re all headed in the same direction.

“We’re fitting together really well,” Carlo said. “We workout together, we do numerous amounts of drills together, we do activities and team dinners together, so we’re all just getting to know each other really well.”

In early practices, the Lions have been focused on nailing down their fundamentals. As Leininger detailed, NDCL looks to improve upon its weaknesses from last season. “(Offensively) we’ve been working on a lot of ball-handling skills because I think that’s something we lacked last year,” Leininger said. “(Defensively) we lost a lot of defensive players from last year, so we’ve been trying to

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fill those spots on defense.”

NDCL has emphasized cleaning up its defense before the season begins. The Lions want to be able to put pressure on their opponents.

“Since we lost a lot of good defensive players, our full-court press is a little out of whack,” Leininger said. “That’s kind of our main goal, getting that back on track.”

To go along with their seniors, the Lions are expecting production from juniors Melissa Brownlee and Ava Baeslach.

Brownlee is a defensive presence for the Lions, and Baeslach helps to keep plays running

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smoothly on offense.

Leininger thinks her junior teammates will be big factors in 2021.

“Baeslach is really good down low,” Leininger said. “And Brownlee is really good at seeing the full court.”

In this new season, Kamkutis and his players are all seeking constant improvement.

“We want to get better every day,” Kamkutis said. “Our mantra is ‘I am, I can, I will.’ I am going to get better, I can get better, I will be better. That’s the mantra we’re looking at.”

Page 16

Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

West Geauga Wolverines Boys

West G Looks to Right the Ship After Coaching Change

By Jason Baxter The Wolverines will have their third head coach in three years. This past offseason, Jim Fisher was hired to replace Dan Jones, who resigned after one season in Chesterland.

Fisher was part of last year’s coaching staff, which will help ease the transition.

West Geauga was only able to play 11 games last season due to a season interrupted by COVID-19. Its record was 1-10.

This was only a season removed from a 17-8 record and

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trip to the District tournament in 2020.

The Wolverines had very limited returning experience from that tournament team.

“We were shut down two or three different times last year, we took our lumps. We had a lot of young guys playing up instead of where they should have been playing,” Fisher said. “I think everyone has a sour taste from last year.”

Fisher said after he was hired with summer workouts, the hard work started.

Prexta

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“Once football ended,” Fisher said, “we got our full team.

They want to right the ship.”

The Wolverines will be led by a large junior class that gained experience last season.

That junior class features Jerry Kline-Ruminski, Sonny Catalano and Andrew Prexta.

Fellow juniors Joey Hornyak, Angelo DeSciscio, Jesse Moriarity, Van Peck and Travis Veleba will add a considerable amount of depth.

Fisher said the numbers are light in the lower classes (sophomore and freshman).

There are 13 players on the varsity team.

“The junior class is a good class. They’re talented,” Fisher said. “Not much separates the players. They’re really good players. I’m looking for leadership from our four seniors.”

Those are: Finn Pitcock, Phillip Moore, Torry Stazzone and Kaden Ryan.

Pitcock is a returning starter being counted on to lead the team as a captain along with Prexta and Desciscio.

“Our expectations are pretty high. Especially coming off of last year was pretty tough.

We were shut down a bunch,” Pitcock said. “I feel like this year we got a good team. We’re all friends; we’re looking for-

ward to it.”

Stazzone and Ryan provided many highlights this past fall for the football team.

Freshman Landon Lear will also look to crack the rotation for the Wolverines as he starts the season splitting time between varsity and junior varsity.

Prexta, a junior guard, talked about the goals the team has for the upcoming season.

“Improvement overall,” Prexta said. “Last year was tough. We had to adjust to all of the changes. Now we can just focus on getting better. We have been working since the summer.”

“We’re definitely stressing defense,” Fisher said. “If you play good defense, you can beat anyone. Offensively, we don’t care who the leading scorer is.

We will play team basketball.”

The Wolverines and the rest of the CVC Chagrin welcome Richmond Heights into the division this year.

The Spartans are projected to be one of the top teams in Northeast Ohio.

Fisher believes the rest of the division has some parity that could help the Wolverines be competitive and surprise some people.

Geauga County Maple Leaf

Page 17

West Geauga Wolverines Girls

West G Girls More Up-Tempo Under New Head Coach

By Jason Baxter West Geauga welcomes a new head coach after Bob Beutel stepped down in July. Brandon Stewart takes over the program.

Stewart, who stepped into the role this fall, also serves as the West Geauga athletic director.

He was head coach last season at Hathaway Brown; he has also served as an assistant coach at Ursuline College.

Beutel sat out last season due to COVID-19 precautions, so the team was coached by Greg Dugger.

The Wolverines finished the season with a 7-5 record, 3-1 in the CVC during the shortened season. They will be replacing one of the area’s top players in Athena Hocevar, who is now playing at Youngstown State. Hocevar was Third-Team All-Northeast Lakes District last season after earning All-Ohio honors as a junior.

The Wolverines have four seniors returning: Rae Ehrbar, Meghan Zebrowski, Tara Gall and Grace Wolfe.

West Geauga will count heavily on a talented junior class led by Alexa Hocevar, who earned All-Ohio Special Mention honors last year as a soph-

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omore. She averaged 17 points per game last season.

Hocevar has numerous Division I college offers entering her junior campaign, including Youngstown State, Miami of Ohio, Canisius and Niagara.

She believes her team is coming together despite the late coaching change.

“We have a whole new staff,” Hocevar said. “I think our biggest goal is to come together as a team and adapt to all the new plays. So far, through all of our scrimmages, we have done pretty well. I think some of our goals are to be a team, have energy and win. And to try to get as far as we can in the tournament.”

Juniors Grace Laster, Ashlyn Drayer, Hayley Ottman and Maggie Furst will be counted on to contribute.

Stewart is planning on running a more up-tempo offense.

“We will be a lot more up-tempo — a lot less sets — more of a position-less game where all five people handle the ball,” the coach said. “All five can push the ball up the court.

We have some depth coming off the bench with experience.

Numbers will also be a concern, but we feel we can be nine or 10 deep on the varsity level.”

Wolfe, who is returning from an ankle injury last season,

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agreed with her coach about the new style of play that the Wolverines will showcase.

“Returning with this new staff, we have been so much more fast, aggressive; everything is fast-paced,” Wolfe said.

“Everything we do, we’re running and sprinting. It’s a lot different, but in a good way.”

Stewart also has had to bring his team together in a short amount of time after being named head coach late in the offseason.

One step he took in challenging his team early was building a tough scrimmage schedule.

The Wolverines have scrim-

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Wolfe @Mentor @Madison @Hawken Geneva @Chardon @Chagrin Falls @Harvey Beachwood Edgewood @Perry @Beaumont @Orange Lakeside Hawken Chagrin Falls @Beachwood Orange St. Joseph

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maged Magnificat, Hathaway Brown, Bellevue and Eastlake North.

“They have been working hard in the preseason,” Stewart said.

He added: “We lost a lot of days, especially with the unlimited days in the summer, but they showed up every day. They accepted the coaching and we have gotten a lot done, I think moreso than other teams would have in that position. They have bought in. With that buy-in, we can do anything we want to.”

Stewart receives assistance from Kelsey Michaels and Kris Wilson.

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview

Geauga County Maple Leaf

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Geauga County High School Basketball Preview