FC trio looks to reach district title games

Three area Firelands Conference teams will look to advance to the trophy round of the district tournament in Division VII Thursday night. Winners of 11 in a row, Monroeville (18-5) will take on Cardinal Stritch (14-9) at 6 p.m. at Clay High School in Oregon. The Eagles, a No. 1 seed in their Northwest District group, will make the 58-mile trip, compared to just five miles for the No. 4 Cardinals. The two teams have never met prior to Thursday's matchup. Stritch is led by 6-foot-1 junior guard Erick Graham, who averages 14.4 points and 5.3 rebounds as a Toledo Area Athletic Conference and OHSBCA District 7 first-team selection. He is joined by 6-1 senior guard Xavier Blackman, who averages 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game as an All-TAAC first team and District 7 second team choice. The Cardinals played just four Div. VII schools during the regular season, and none in their first 11 games. Stritch was 3-7 after 10 games but is 11-2 since. Their two TAAC losses came to league champion Maumee Valley Country Day (16-6, 8-0). Stritch played eight games against Sandusky Bay Conference schools, including a 50-43 win over St. Mary Central Catholic (19-4) on Jan. 24 in Sandusky and a 91-38 rout over Danbury (4-18) in a sectional title game on Feb. 26. Against SMCC, Graham scored 18 points. In the win over the Lakers, Blackman scored 25 points, followed by King Wilson with 20. Dennis Clark added 18, and Graham had 11. The winner advances to Saturday's district title game at 7 p.m. back at Clay against the winner of Edon (15-8) and Pettisville (14-9). The Bombers and Blackbirds meet yearly as members of the Buckeye Border Conference. Edon claimed a 47-25 win just past the midway point of the season at Pettisville on Jan. 16 Edon is led by Briggs Gallehue. The 6-4 senior forward with more than 1,200 career points averages 20.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Junior guard Corbin Chrisman adds 14.7 points per game. Pettisville is led by 6-2 senior guard Jack Leppelmeier, who averages 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. The two-time All-Ohioan was the BBC and District 7 Player of the Year and is approaching 1,500 career points. The Eagles, who won the Firelands Conference title for the first time in 42 years and have equaled the most wins in a season in that same span, have won 11 straight games. Monroeville is led by the senior duo of Cole Perry (6-6) and Maverick Myers (6-2). The pair combined to score 37 points in a 69-60 win over St. Paul to advance to the district semifinal. During the regular season, Perry averaged 12.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Myers averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Those two are followed by senior Derek Ackerman (10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds), senior Ethan Pomerich (8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists), and junior Link Schaffer-Paull (7.0 points, 3.5 assists). Tiffin Calvert (15-7) vs. Plymouth (15-8) In the first of two games at Galion at 6 p.m. Thursday, the No. 2-seed Big Red take on the No. 1 Senecas for a spot in Saturday's title game. Plymouth defeated Mansfield St. Peter's, 63-45, and the Senecas dominated Lucas, 59-12, in sectional title games to advance to the district. Plymouth is paced by the duo of 6-4 senior Jarrett Burrer and 6-5 sophomore Izaya Reynolds. Burrer, the District 6 Player of the Year and the probable FC Player of the Year, averages 19 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Reynolds adds 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest for the Big Red. Calvert is led by Logan Ritzler (18.8 points, 4.7 rebounds) and Vincenzo Lyons (11.1 points, 7.2 rebounds). Grady Otterbacher adds 8.2 points and 5.7 assists per game, while Logan DeMoss adds 8.5 points and 2.1 steals. The winner takes on the SBC River rematch of No. 2 SMCC and No. 3 Old Fort (15-8) at 7 p.m. back in Galion. Those two will meet in the second game at Clay following Monroeville and Cardinal Stritch. The Panthers won the regular season meeting, 48-33, back on Dec. 18 in the third game of the regular season. Crestline (13-10) vs. South Central (11-12) The No. 3 Bulldogs and No. 4 Trojans will also meet in a rematch from the regular season in the second game Thursday at Galion following Calvert and Plymouth. Crestline defeated Buckeye Central, 43-27, to advance to the game, while the Trojans pulled away from New Riegel in a 67-43 win. Crestline visited South Central in the second game of the season for both teams on a Tuesday night in Greenwich. The Trojans won the game, 70-57, behind a huge third quarter that saw them outscore the Bulldogs by a 26-11 margin. Wes June scored 26 points with 13 rebounds in the win, while Bryan Chaffee had 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Brayden Viock added 12 points. During the regular season, South Central was led by Chaffee with 18 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. June adds 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. The Trojans are in the district tournament for the first time in four years, when they fell to Margaretta in the title game in the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs are in the district round for the first time in 29 years. They were 7-8 after 15 games but are 6-2 in their last eight. Crestline is led by 5-7 junior guard Kody Lawhorn (16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and 6-2 senior guard Kieran Barnett (10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists). In the loss at South Central, Lawhorn had 16 points, and Barnett scored 14. Weston Clark added 13. The winner of Thursday's game will shift sites and make the long trip to Lima Senior for the 7 p.m. title game Saturday night. Awaiting the winner will be either No. 1 Arlington (20-3) or No. 4 McComb (9-14). Arlington is paced by 6-10 senior Calvin Willow (18.8 points) and 6-1 senior guard Ayden Cavinee (14.3 points). The Red Devils are the No. 4-ranked team in Div. VII according to MaxPreps. McComb is led by sophomore Luke Kern, who averages 17 points per game.