Isaac Blair is FC Player of the Year

South Central standout Isaac Blair was selected the Firelands Conference Player of the Year, the league announced on March 3. A senior, Blair averaged 21.6 points per game this season for the Trojans (9-14, 6-8). He shot 49 percent from the field, while also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Not only did Blair lead the FC in scoring, but he scored 4.7 points per game more than the second-best effort in the league. He had six of the top 10 scoring games in the conference this season. His 475 points this season are the eighth-most in a season at South Central. Blair nearly scored 1,000 points over his final two seasons of high school, as he totaled 905 points in that time. At 1,083 points, Blair finished seventh all-time in program history in career points. Blair's POY award also gives him All-FC first team honors in track and field, football, and basketball in nine months, while he is expected to also earn All-Ohio honors in all three sports over the same span. Also joining Blair on the first team was a pair of four-year Monroeville standouts in seniors Jimmy Clingman and Aidan Goodwin. Clingman averaged 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Eagles this season. He unofficially finished with 1,089 points, which is good for second all-time in career points at the school behind his teammate from a year ago, Isaac Roeder. Goodwin averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Eagles. Clingman and Goodwin helped the Eagles (15-10, 9-5) to back-to-back sectional championships and three straight second-place finishes in the FC. It was the first time in 13 years the program had back-to-back district appearances, and the first time in 47 years that the Eagles had three straight second-place or better finishes in the conference standings. Western Reserve senior Chris Buchanan was also an area first team selection. As the lone returner with significant minutes from a year ago, Buchanan helped Western to eight straight victories and a 14-win season. He averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Roughriders (14-8, 9-5), who also won at least one tournament game for a 19th time in the past 21 seasons. Area second team selections included South Central senior Brandon Mitchell (9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds); Western Reserve junior Grant Bethard (10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds); and St. Paul sophomores Korey Frazee (12.3 points) and Nolan McCall (8.8 points, 7.4 rebounds). ------------------------------------------------------- All-Firelands Conference boys basketball teamsFIRST TEAM: Jimmy Clingman, Monroeville, Sr.; Aidan Goodwin, Monroeville, Sr.; Scott Hickey, Mapleton, So.; Chris Buchanan, Western Reserve, Sr.; Isaac Blair, South Central, Sr.; Justice Thompson, Crestview, So.; Jarek Ringler, Crestview, Jr.SECOND TEAM: Owen Barker, Crestview, Sr.; Heath Kash, Crestview, Sr.; Brandon Mitchell, South Central, Sr.; Korey Frazee, St. Paul, So.; Nolan McCall, St. Paul, So.; Grant Bethard, Western Reserve, Jr.; Jedidiah Brannon, Mapleton, Sr.HONORABLE MENTION: Braden Chapman, Monroeville, Sr.; Kyle Sloter, Mapleton, Jr.; Rhett Grose, Western Reserve, Sr.; Evan Wangler, St. Paul, Jr.; Hayden Dobias, South Central, Fr.; Conner Byrd, New London, Sr.; Owen Reynolds, Plymouth, Sr.; Tyson Ringler, Crestview, Sr.Player of the Year: Isaac Blair, South Central.Coach of the Year: John Kurtz, Crestview. Final standings FC OverallCrestview 14-0 21-3 Monroeville 9-5 15-10 W. Reserve 9-5 14-8 Mapleton 8-6 12-11 St. Paul 7-7 11-14 So. Central 6-8 9-14 Plymouth 3-11 4-19 New London 0-14 2-21