HS wheelchair basketball
Semifinals
#2 Green (13-2) 44
#5 Jackson (11-6) 15
Zayne Hammoudeh poured in 30 points, including a league record 6 threes.
Saturday championship
Cleveland Public Auditorium
4:30 - exhibition game (8 Paralympians)
6:00 - #1 Tallmadge vs #2 Green
HS wheelchair basketball semifinals
#6 Wadsworth at #1 Tallmadge, Mon. 6:30
#5 Jackson at #2 Green, Tues. 6:00
Championship Sat. at Cle. Public Auditorium
4:30 Exhibition game (8 Paralympians)
6:00 State title game
Admission $15
For the top 12 OIAS interscholastic wheelchair basketball teams, the road to Cleveland begins. Defending champ Tallmadge carries a 40-game win streak into the playoffs, but Uniontown Green has shown the potential to end the Blue Devils' run.
Being a high school multi-sport athlete should be encouraged, not discouraged. As a varsity coach, I support players competing in other sports. The problem isn’t multi-sport participation—it’s coaches expecting year-round priority. That’s control, not development.
After taking an administrative technical to add Ellis to the scorebook, they sub him in at the start of the 4th. Without his sneakers, he still gets 5 dunks in 8 minutes to lead his team to a win. A strange situation, but a phenomenal athlete!
3/3
HS basketball story:
My junior year at Raleigh Enloe was a blast, with @LeVelleMoton pouring in 27 a night. The next season, he's gone to NCCU and we stink. The last game before Christmas is at state-ranked East Wake, who has future UNC & Cowboys star DE Greg Ellis.
1/3
@CoachGregEllis is on the bench in dress clothes, day-to-day with a minor injury. When we're somehow ahead late in the 3rd, they send him to suit up, but his name is not in the scorebook and his basketball shoes are at home.
2/3
@OhioSportsNet First AP football poll (after week 3) vs my divisional rankings in the same week. Intended to give an idea of how well each is identifying legitimate state contenders at that early stage of the season. Ignoring teams ranked highly by both, comparing those highlighted by only 1.
As with the prior seasons, my early-season rankings were a better predictor of playoff success than the AP polls. This year's challenge score was 15-6 in my favor.
3rd annual AP/F50 Challenge
Each side gets their highest ranked team in every region that is not in the other's divisional top 10. If the AP runs out of teams in a region, then neither side gets a team. One point per win in the regional semis & beyond. (In 2024, I won 16-5.)
A little housekeeping to finish the 2025 season:
Playoff picks were solid except for the first round, which no longer had four mismatches involving #1/#16, #2/#15, #3/#14, and #4/#13.
FINAL: Liberty Center 35, Wheelersburg 3 (D5 State Final)
The Liberty Center Tigers are State Champions for the first time since 1997!
Garrison Kruse ran for 2 TD and Thomas Mohler added a 3rd for the Tigers, while Kaden Kreinbrink found Jaxton Lawniczak for 2 more.
This is a really interesting matchup. While my ratings have the Tigers favored by 2 touchdowns, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Pirates hang around or even win the game.
🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: The Division V state championship game, Wheelersburg vs. Liberty Center, kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
📺 Watch: https://t.co/SD73ojNfZa
📻 Listen: https://t.co/LLwxVmp69R
📊 Stats: https://t.co/yCZ7dcOLws
🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: Division VI state championship game final score - Kirtland 41, Hopewell-Loudon 6
Kirtland wins its eighth state championship, the seventh school to win at least eight football state titles.
Tiger LaVerde becomes the third football coach in OHSAA history to win 8+ state championships, joining the legendary figures of Chuck Kyle (11) and Tim Goodwin (15). 🏆
LaVerde is now 259-21 (.925) at Kirtland & 279-31 (.900) for his career. 🐅
#HornetPride🐝
@KLSDSupt
Charlie Werling is leading the way for St Henry, with 146 yards on the ground (on just 13 carries), 50 more through the air, and 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 passing). Nearly half of Hillsdale's total offense thus far came on a 46-yard Lewis to McFadden pass.