MaxWire National Blog

Covering High School Sports in America
  • The Miami Heat seem to be clicking at the right time. And when I watch NBA or any pro games I always wonder how they were in high school.

    We all got a chance to see LeBron James play as a few of his high school games were televised nationally. But what about this teammate Dwyane Wade. Was he like LeBron?

    Wade was not a Top 20 recruit coming out of high school, according to his Marquette player page.

    He still averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds per game his senior year.

    Have a look at Wade and his playing days with Richards (Chicago).

  • Photo via Twitter

    Mail on fire.

    Some recruits claim they are solidly committed to the school of their choice.

    Others burn recruiting literature from rival schools.

    Logan Tuley-Tillman, who verbally committed to Michigan in February, chose the latter, setting fire to a letter from Ohio State and posting a photo of the burning mail on Twitter.

    The recruiting rivalry between Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer has been heated for months, but now it's officially burning.

    Tuley-Tillman is a part of a Michigan recruiting class that checked in at No. 2 in the updated team recruiting rankings while Ohio State was No. 7.
  • Josh Floyd, one of the finest young football coaches in the country, announced late last week that he has been diagnosed with early stages of multiple sclerosis.

    Photo by Richey Miller

    Josh Floyd, Shiloh Christian

    The 32-year-old coach has compiled an 89-19 record at his alma mater, Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.), with four state championships in eight years. He also serves as athletic director for the Saints, who will be moving up a notch to Class 5A this coming fall.

    Floyd told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he felt a tingling in his left arm and leg early in the week and underwent an MRI, at which time MS was diagnosed.

    Though he will seek a second opinion, Floyd related, "The doctor said I'm going to get to live a long, normal life and still coach, exercise, play with my kids and all those things."
  • The public - at least a small portion of it - has spoken: Indiana fans want their one-class basketball tournament back.

    Photo by Warren Robison

    Cardinal Ritter vs. Scecina Memorial

    Following 11 town meetings throughout the state, 68.1 percent of the 514 votes asked that the IHSAA scrap the current four-class system and return to a format which once was the envy of many other states over the years.

    Commissioner Bobby Cox told the Indianapolis Star, "It's one piece of data. We've got to put all those together and aggregate the entire piece to make some accurate assessments of the tenor and the attitudes of people. We want to create a lot of different angles by which to look at this."

    Cox explained that the state also is surveying principals, athletic directors, basketball coaches and varsity players. The total results will be released at the end of June.

    The latest state tournament had the lowest attendance since the one-class system was replaced in 1998.
  • Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass., defended her gymnastics title by winning the all-around championship in the Senior Division of the Secret U.S. Classic over the weekend in Chicago, Ill. It marked the final qualifying event for the upcoming Visa Championships.

    Raisman posted an all-around score of 60.350. She also placed first in floor exercise with 15.350.

    In the Junior Division, Simone Biles of Spring, Texas, was the all-around gold medal winner with a score of 58.150. In addition, she was the top vaulter with 16.050 points.
  • Possibly the best softball pitcher in Kansas history may not play the sport in college.

    Senior Sydnee Eck pitched Andale/Garden Plain (Andale, Kan.) to a 3-1 victory over DeSoto (Kan.) on Saturday for its third consecutive state championship. It marked the final game not only for her, but for coach Doris Hein, who is retiring. The Indians, who were seeded only fifth, finished the year with a 25-1 record.

    Photo by Kendall Shaw

    Sydnee Eck, Andale/Garden Plain

    Eck, who finished the year with 207 strikeouts and an earned run average under 1.00, had not planned to play softball in college, but she did tell the Hutchinson News, "It (the title) makes me want to play. But I haven't gotten any calls."

    Sounds like some smart college coaches need to jump on the phone today!

    Despite hindered by a heavily-taped right forearm from stress fractures, Eck won three games over the two-day Class 4A state finals. In the semifinals, she stopped previously unbeaten Labette County (Altamont, Kan.) 5-2. One day earlier she stifled Paola (Kan.) 2-0 on a two-hitter with 18 strikeouts and also slammed a sixth-inning home run to break up a scoreless game.

    *Switching to baseball, a pair of 15-inning thrillers were played in New Jersey.

    Sayreville (Parlin, N.J.) outlasted Phillipsburg (N.J.) 5-4 in 15 innings during the North Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals. The game was suspended by rain, tied at 4-4 in the 14th inning, and finished the following day. Vinnie Gambardella opened the final inning with a double and eventually scored the decisive run on a bloop hit just inside the left field line by No. 8 batter Anthony Ungano.

    The loss spoiled a superb effort by Phillipsburg's Anthony Ciavarella, who threw 161 pitches and struck out 18 in the first nine innings while also slamming a three-run homer.

    Livingston (N.J.) nipped Montclair (N.J.) 2-1 when Connor Kimmel tripled leading off the 15th and scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Haberman.
  • Jordan Robbeloth struck out the first 17 batters (only one thereafter) to spark North Harrison (Ramsey, Ind.) to a 10-0 victory over Salem (Ind.) during the first round of the Class 3A baseball sectional. A two-out single in the seventh inning cost him a no-hitter.

    File photo by Rob Cartmell

    Palm Desert's Jonathan Serven

    More diamond notes throughout the country.

    * Palm Desert (Calif.) outlasted Savanna (Anaheim, Calif.) 4-3 in 14 innings during Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals. Jonathan Serven tripled and scored the winning run on a bad relay throw to third base.

    Softball

    * In one of the most dramatic games of the spring, Liberty (Sykesville, Md.) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun perennial champion McDonough (Owings Mlls, Md.) 3-2 on Friday to claim its first Class 2A state softball crown.

    Trailing the five-time state champs 2-0 in the final inning, the Lions quickly loaded the bases on two bunt singles and a walk to eventual hero Sammy Bost. A two-run single by Rebecca Oneto tied the score and left runners on first and second, still with nobody out. 

    Natalie Gill missed a bunt attempt, but Bost and Oneto were safe on a double steal. Bost over-slid third and appeared to be tagged out. However, when no call was made she broke for home and was able to score the winning run without a throw to home plate.

    Bost told the Washington Post, "I didn't feel a tag. I wasn't going to go back into a tag, so I figured I'd rather get into a rundown or go to score."

    * Senior Lauren Cox struck out 20 of a possible 21 batters while pitching La Canada (Calif.) to a 7-0 victory over Mary Star of the Sea (San Pedro, Calif.) during the Southern Section Division V quarterfinals. She yielded just one hit and three walks. Earlier this spring she fanned 23 in a 14-inning game.

    * North Medford (Medford, Ore.) nipped Forest Grove (Ore.) 2-1 in 11 innings during the Class 6A state quarterfinals as Maryssa Becker struck out 21. While raising her record to 24-0, Becker yielded only two hits. In a losing cause, Marissa Reichard fanned 14 against a team which has lost just once in 28 outings.

    * Holly Springs (N.C.) edged Apex (N.C.) 6-5 in 13 innings as Erica Nunn struck out 22 during the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

    * Senior Ashley Cole pitched a perfect game with 18 strikeouts as Carle Place (N.Y.) blanked Oyster Bay (N.Y.) 2-0, It marked her second perfect game and third no-hitter of the season.

    * Morgan Foley struck out 18 batters to lead Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) to a 1-0 victory over Fern Creek (Louisville, Ky.) in the district championship game.






  • Sparked by a rising sophomore star, Hough (Cornelius, N.C.) shocked the nation's No. 1-ranked girls soccer team, Green Hope (Cary, N.C.), 2-1 today to win its first Class 4A state championship.

    Green Hope, which had won its last 25 games, was ranked No. 1 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, while Hough held down the No. 19 position.

    Sophomore forward Sarah Moon - noted for her outstanding speed - scored both of Hough's goals during the final 15 minutes.

    Hough coach David Smith told the Charlotte Observer, "Her pace is amazing and she's growing every day as a soccer player. And she's a great kid. I put her back in with 15 minutes left and told her, 'You've got to get going non-stop.'  - and she sure enough did."
  • Photo via Twitter

    Deshaun Watson, Gainesville

    Auburn recently landed a commitment from quarterback Jeremy Johnson, but that hasn't stopped the Tigers from pursuing one of the country's top signal-callers from the class of 2014.

    Gene Chizik and staff extended a verbal scholarship offer to Gainesville (Ga.) quarterback DeShaun Watson on Saturday, while Watson visited campus.

    "Auburn just offered!" Watson tweeted this afternoon.

    Watson, who gave an early verbal commitment to Clemson, later reiterated on Twitter that he is solidly committed to the Tigers.

    The 6-foot-2, 185-pound quarterback was a U.S. Air Force Sophomore All-American and nearly took home National Sophomore of the Year honors after a prodigious 10th-grade campaign.

    He passed for 3,251 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 16 scores and over 1,000 yards.
  • Photo by Larry Gasinski (file)

    Jagger Rusconi, West Ranch

    Another No. 1 team suffered the upset bug Friday when the top-ranked Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) Lancers fell 5-4 to West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) in the third round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

    West Ranch got a two-out, two-run double from freshman Jagger Rusconi in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally his team to the win. West Ranch won its first Foothill League title this season and had not gone further than the second round in previous playoff appearances.

    Orange Lutheran (23-5) had been ranked No. 1 overall for the past two weeks following Olympia's loss in the Florida 8A state playoffs.

    The Lancers led 4-3 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Dalton Frize.

    Justin Hovis led West Ranch, going 3-for-3 with a ground-rule double. His two-bagger, along with a walk to Jd Krauskopfand a hit batsman, set the stage for Rusconi's hit, which was also a ground-rule double.

    West Ranch advances to the semifinals.