By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
The first week of football in Ohio and Indiana produced some big games and some outstanding individual efforts.
The most spectacular action probably took place in Cincinnati, Ohio where senior quarterback Bo Cordell served notice that he is healthy and ready to go out in a blaze of glory. Cordell, who tore his meniscus both during the football and baseball season as a junior, completed 26-of-33 passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns to spark Indian Hill to a 44-6 rout of Ross. For his efforts, Cordell has been named MaxPreps National Player of the Week.
Nationally-ranked Cincinnati St. Xavier was upset by city foe Colerain, 13-8, before a crowd of 15,000. Sophomore running back Tyler Williams scored both touchdowns to help Colerain earn MaxPreps National Team of the Week. St. Xavier, which had won its previous 15 games, played without starting quarterback Luke Massa, a junior who still is recovering from foot surgery from a basketball injury…Lockland outlasted Bethel-Tate, 22-21, in a four-overtime thriller.
Moving to Cleveland, Glenville upset nationally-ranked St. Ignatius, 20-17, on a game-ending 30-yard field goal by Marvel Brooks before a crowd of 10,000. Brooks, a 6-0, 170-pound senior, also kicked a 27-yard field goal and two extra points….In Columbus, Ohio, Devin Clodfelter rushed for 313 yards and four touchdowns as Independence routed Harvest Prep, 52-26…Senior tackle J.K. Jay (6-7, 280) had 22 pancake blocks as Christ Church Episcopal (Greenville, S.C.) defeated Liberty, 34-21. He missed his junior year due to a broken ankle.
Turning to Indiana, Carmel senior quarterback Morgan Newton made a commitment to the University of Kentucky. As a junior, he passed for 1,883 yards and 25 touchdowns while running for 743 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 6-4, 215-pounder lived up to his high national ranking on Saturday by leading the Greyhounds to a 28-21 victory over Indianapolis Cathedral before 8,000 fans and a national TV audience. He completed 16-of-21 passes for 194 yards and ran for 89 yards on 20 carries. He proved to be a clutch performer by scoring on runs of two and 18 yards to wipe out a fourth-quarter deficit.
Jeffersonville (Ind.) tailback Jamie Goldsmith ran for a school-record 320 yards (234 in the third quarter), but the Red Devils lost a 34-33 heartbreaker to Evansville Reitz…Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) opened its season with a 43-10 victory over Lahainaluna in Wailuku, Hawaii. In his first start, quarterback Matt Viles stood out by completing 14-of-22 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns.
The biggest game in the West saw Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) defeat Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 16-6, in a battle of defending state champions…Maryville, Tenn., rolled past Knoxville Halls, 28-7, for its 61st consecutive victory…Junior Ryan Shipley (5-10, 235) made his debut at quarterback by completing 15-of-20 passes for 338 yards and five touchdowns as Cumberland Gap (Tenn.) routed Thomas Walker (Ewing, Va.), 46-19…Provo Timpview nipped Pleasant Grove, 10-6, to extend Utah’s longest current winning streak to 24 games. The Thunderbirds stopped Pleasant Grove four times inside the 10-yard line.
Other Football Notes
* A major transfer has taken place in Eugene, Ore., with highly-ranked senior offensive tackle Charles Siddoway (6-6, 305) moving from Marist to Sheldon… Another transfer, this time in Omaha, Neb., has given Burke a loaded backfield with the addition of junior Stephon Washington. Last year Washington won the 300-meter hurdles state championship while running track for Omaha Central.
* Look for Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) to have another powerhouse this year. Two transfers battled it out for the starting quarterback position and the winner was Nate Montana, a junior and the son of NFL great Joe Montana. He left another national power, Concord De La Salle. Senior Tony Macarena, who came from Ventura St. Bonaventure, will be a great backup.
* On the recruiting front, the University of Iowa has received a major commitment from senior running back Brandon Wegher. The 5-11, 190-pounder ran for 2,334 yards (8.2 average) and 34 touchdowns as a junior at Bishop Heelan Catholic (Sioux City, Iowa)…Senior linebacker Taniela Maka (6-1, 217), who made 133 tackles last year for Jordan (Long Beach, Calif.), has made a commitment to the University of Arizona.
* East Carolina has received a pledge from Michael Dobson (5-11, 185), who ran for 1,639 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior for Mount Airy (N.C.)…Stanford received a big commitment from wide receiver Jamal Patterson (6-2, 194), who made 43 catches for 933 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior at Henry County (McDonough, Ga.).
Basketball Notes
* Skip to My Lou staged a late rally to defeat The Goat, 135-121, in the third annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 basketball extravaganza at New York’s famed Rucker Park. Other than the site, the most unique thing about the game is that it draws not only the premier seniors, but also the top juniors and sophomores for a one-night stand featuring individual – not team – brilliance.
Junior guard Doron Lamb (Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va.) paced the winners with 25 points, while senior guard Maurice Cheek (St. Anthony, Jersey City, N.J.) was right behind with 23 points. Six-foot-nine Derrick Favors (South Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.) contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Josh Smith, a promising 6-9 junior from Kentwood (Covington, Wash.), had the lone double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Spectacular guard John Wall (Word of God Academy, Raleigh, N.C.), who is a fifth-year senior, had 10 points and six assists. Wall and Cheek were named their team’s co-MVPs.
Lance Stephenson and Maalik Wayns shared MVP honors for the losers. The 6-5 Stevenson (Lincoln, Brooklyn, N.Y.) dominated the game as a junior and this time stood out again with 29 points. Wayns, a 6-1 senior from Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.), led in assists and penetrated well to also score in double figures….Senior guard Dexter Strickland (St. Patrick, Elizabeth, N.J.) won the slam-dunk contest.
* Former Oak Hill center Keith “Tiny” Gallon (6-9, 290) reportedly will spend his senior year at Word of God Academy (Raleigh, N.C.). Coach Steve Smith is reloading at Oak Hill and is bringing in two big men to fill the gap: 6-10, 250-pound senior Chris Brown from Sugar Land (Texas) and 6-10, 210-pound junior Baye Moussa Keita from Senegal.
* Another interesting transfer is sending Todd Mayo from South Point (Ohio) to Houston (Germantown, Tenn.), so he can be close to his brother, O.J. Mayo, who now is with the NBA Memphis Grizzlies. The 6-3 junior averaged 22.6 points last year…Legendary Louisiana coach Joel Hawkins has retired from Baton Rouge Southern Lab after compiling a spectacular 1,071-263 record and winning 12 state titles in 43 years.
* Indiana University has received a commitment from one of the nation’s top sophomore guards, 6-2 Matt Carlino of Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.)…Omari Lawrence, a 6-4 senior, has made a commitment to St. John’s University. Lawrence will play his final year at South Kent (Conn.) after averaging 18.2 points at St. Raymond’s (Bronx, N.Y.) last season…Senior guard Keyrra Gillespie has made a pledge to Clemson University. She averaged an impressive 15.2 points, 8.2 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 steals last year for 28-3 Statesville (N.C.).
* Superstar Elena Delle Donne made it official Monday: she’s now playing volleyball for the University of Delaware. One of high school basketball’s all-time greats, the 6-5 Delle Donne told the media, “Once I arrived at UConn, I just saw what was going to be required every day and I thought I wouldn’t be able to give that. It didn’t just happen overnight. When I step on the basketball floor now, I feel burnout. It’s just the game – I’m tired of it.”
Hockey Notes
* The U.S. Under-17 Select team posted a 3-1 record and finished second to the unbeaten Czech Republic during the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Prievidza, Slovakia. Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.) had three goals and one assist in the Americans’ final game – a 5-2 victory over Slovakia – and was high scorer in the tourney with seven points. The only U.S. loss was to the Czech Republic, 3-0. The Americans’ other victories were over Germany (3-2) and Switzerland (5-2). Goaltender Andrew Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) made 18 saves against Switzerland.
* The U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team defeated Canada, 4-1 and 3-2, before losing the finale of their three-game series, 3-2 in overtime at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. Brianna Decker paced the Americans with six points during the three-game exhibition series.
Cross Country Notes
* Carmel (Ind.) won the first big meet of the year by scoring a low of 42 points to capture the Asics Hot Summer Bash in Galion, Ohio. The Greyhounds placed their top five runners at No. 3, 5, 9, 11 and 14, led by third-place Dan Kinn. The individual champion was Medina’s defending Ohio state champion Donny Roys, who was clocked in 15:58 for the 5K race which featured top teams from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana.
* Culver Academy (Ind.) lost perennial state champion Alex Banfich through graduation, but just picked up a sophomore transfer who has great credentials of her own. She is Waverly Neer, who placed second in the 3200-meter run at the state track meet and 23rd in the state cross country meet as a freshman at Westfield…National cross country expert Marc Bloom has tabbed the North Central (Spokane, Wash.) boys and Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.) girls No. 1 in the nation in the preseason.