The Glenville Tarblooders pay a visit to Sullivan Gymnasium on Friday night riding the momentum of Tuesday evening’s 72-68 victory over East Tech at Glenville, a triumph that gave “The Ville” the
regular-season portion of the Senate Athletic League and the home-court advantage in the upcoming Senate Athletic League playoffs.
Under the guidance of veteran head coach Michael Holt, the Tarblooders are 14-2 and ranked 14th in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 Poll.
On Saturday night, Coach Sean O’Toole’s Wildcats (12-3), who are currently ranked seventh in the Associated Press Division I State Poll and third in The PD’s area poll, will travel to Perrysburg to play the always dangerous and well-schooled Yellow Jackets (11-5) from Wood County in Northwest Ohio.
Please, no one let Mother Nature know that Saint Ignatius is scheduled to play in Perrysburg. The past three times the ‘Cats were slated to travel to Perrysburg the games were called off because of adverse weather conditions.
As always, seniors John Fanta and Greg Ziton will bring you this weekend’s games live over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network and of course we will have our game story reports on the corner. Both varsity games are scheduled for 7:30 and will follow the broadcasts of the respective junior varsity games, which will tip off at 6 bells. As for Saturday night's JV broadcast, the SIBN is going to the bullpen and calling on two of its top prospects - Liam Garven and Pat McGuire.
Coach Larry Arthur’s junior varsity team will take a 13-2 record into Friday night’s encounter with Glenville’s jayvees.
HERE IS HOW COACH O’TOOLE DESCRIBES THE TABLOODERS AND THE YELLOW JACKETS. THE CORNER WILL FOLLOW COACH O’TOOLE’S ANALYSIS WITH A CAPSULE ON EACH TEAM.
Coach O’Toole on Glenville: “Glenville’s having an incredible season. They are always athletic and Michael (Holt) has his kids playing extremely hard. They’re scoring a ton of points and obviously we have
to handle their pressure and limit them to one shot.
“This should be a very, very good test for us,” Coach O’Toole continued.
Coach O’Toole on Perrysburg: “It's a great game for us because they are extremely well-coached. You name the formation, and they can run every style in their offensive set. Whether it is 3-pointers, back-doors or post-ups, they can do it all.
"Perrysburg can play games in the 40s or the 70s,” Coach O’Toole continued. “They play a tough match-up zone and they’re extremely disciplined. It’s the variety we are going to see from them that will benefit us down the road.”
The capsule on Glenville: The Tarblooders had a rough night during last year’s visit to Sullivan Gym, losing to the Wildcats, 76-46.
Coach Holt appears to have a much stronger team this winter, a talented and mentally tough group that has earned the respect of Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior guard Francisco Santiago (a team-leading 18
points and 6 assist per game).
“They come from around the same neighborhood as where I grew up,” said “Cisco,” who has competed against some of the Tarblooders in the summer. “They are a bunch of tough kids who play hard. They’re athletic and they don’t back down from anybody.”
Here is a brief breakdown on some of Coach Holt’s leading men.
Jimond Ivey: Long and aggressive, the 6-foot-4 Ivey attacks with the dribble. He is averaging more than 14 points a game.
Carl Dowdell: The 6-4 Dowdell has endless energy, is a good offensive rebounder and an excellent defender who averages nearly 8 points per game.
Glen Williams: A 5-9 two-year starting point guard, Williams pushes the action at every opportunity, has quick hands and looks for the flex.
****Craig Eubanks: The 6-4 Eubanks is referred to by Coach O'Toole as an excellent player and a very good attacker with deep range. Craig entered this week’s action averaging 17.9 points per game with 28 3-pointers.
****Harry Sykes: The 6-3 Sykes is a physical and athletic wing. He is a very aggressive rebounder and is the Tarblooders’ leading scorer with 18.3 points per game.
The capsule on Perrysburg: The Yellow Jackets are pulling themselves together after a tough, two-point loss at Napoleon, a game in which Perrysburg was leading, 41-18, late in the third quarter before being outscored, 39-14, the rest of the way. Coach Dan Boyce’s team had defeated Napoleon by 12 points at home earlier in the season.
Among the mainstays for Coach Boyce (more than 400 career victories) are Shane Edwards, who was a Special Mention All-Northwest District selection last season, Nate Patterson, Matt Kaczinski (6-5), Bryant Byrd, Hayden Thomas and Nick Moschetti.
The 6-3 Edwards can score from anywhere on the court, the 6-2 Byrd has not allowed a hearing impairment to slow him down and Patterson (6-4) joins Edwards and Byrd as two-year starters. Thomas (5-11) and Moschetti (6-2) were letter-winners last season.