The win over the host Mustangs gives North Royalton a District Final appearance against Magnificat, a team that played in a regional final last season and made it to the 2007 state semifinal.
"A win at this point is a win, so it doesn’t matter," North Royalton coach Kristin Hubbell said. "That’s where we expected to be all season. We know that we’re good enough to play in this game. It’s just a matter of getting there and, of course, every year, we have to play Strongsville to get there. That’s what we wanted to do."
"The season’s been really fun," said North Royalton senior outside hitter and Ohio State recruit Amy Schwarzwalder. "Practice has been unbelievable. We’re picking it up a lot more and we’re just really focusing. We’re going to beat Mags this year. I don’t know how many times we’ve played them in the finals; we’re going to beat them this year."
Schwarzwalder, a 6-foot-3 player, and her equally tall sophomore sister Sara, have been a difficult combination to match up against.
"It’s the greatest thing in the world," Amy said of playing with Sara. "I’m really blessed and fortunate that I have the opportunity to do it again."
"I love playing with my sister," Sara responded. "She pushes me to work harder and we’re really enthusiastic when we’re together."
The Schwarzwalders proved to be too much for Strongsville to overcome Tuesday.
They combined for three blocks in the final set and forced several other attempts to be altered in terms of velocity, direction and height.
"They don’t let us lose," Hubbell said. "They play at a high level consistently. They play at a high level of club ball and they know when the game’s on the line what needs to be done."
Amy feels the match with Strongsville was a preview of what is in store for the Bears when they face Magnificat on Thursday.
"Strongsville’s a big team," she said. "We needed that to switch up our hits. They had a big block, so we needed that with Mags’ outside. It should be good. Strongsville’s really scrappy and Mags (is) really scrappy too. It definitely prepares us a little more."
More Ohio prep stories
2. Lutz breaks record: Ironton football coach Bob Lutz became the Ohio High School Athletic Association leader with 361 career wins after his Tigers defeated Nelsonville-York 32-12 Friday night. Over the course of his 40 years as a head coach, Lutz has compiled a 361-82-5 record. He led the Tigers to state championships in 1979 and 1989 and was elected to the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003.
3. Parma closes in on playoffs: The Parma Redmen football team has long been considered a middle-of-the-pack program caught up in the same playoff region with some of Cleveland’s most powerful Catholic and the city’s growing suburban teams. However, a win over rival Valley Forge will give the much-improved Redmen a playoff berth.
4. Davidson keeps running: Hilliard Davidson gained 260 yards of rushing offense in a 19-0 win over Upper Arlington. The win should give the Wildcats a first-round home game when the playoffs start next weekend.
5. A big loss: According to the Columbus Dispatch, Gahanna-Lincoln High School assistant coach Tim Nester died hours after incurring a stroke during a game against Reynoldsburg on Friday night. Nester was 47 years old.
Top performers:
* Tyler Talbott of Hilliard Davidson rushed for 123 yards in the Wildcats’ 19-0 victory over the Upper Arlington Golden Bears.
* Bedford’s Mitchell Kelly posted a 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a 36-20 win over Lorain Admiral King.
* Toledo Central Catholic kicker Kyle Burkhardt booted three field goals in the Fighting Irish’s 27-0 win over Toledo Libbey. Burkhardt’s field goals were from 35, 20 and 52 yards, respectively.
Looking ahead:
* Massillon Washington at Canton McKinley football Saturday afternoon. There are no conference championships on the line, but perhaps no other game in the state of Ohio means as much to the two cities involved. Massillon has clinched a playoff spot and McKinley’s season could come to an end if the Bulldogs don’t win and get some major help along the way.
* St. Ignatius at St. Edward football Saturday night at Lakewood Stadium. Dubbed "The Holy War" because of the intense rivalry between Cleveland’s two most prominent Catholic schools, the St. Ignatius Wildcats are looking to close out yet another undefeated season under head coach Chuck Kyle, while the Eagles are looking to head into the offseason on a positive note.
Recruiting news
According to the Toledo Blade, Waite High School girls basketball senior Natasha Howard has verbally committed to Florida State University. Howard, a 6-foot-3 combo guard/forward, has been a first-team all-city league selection for three years. ... The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Northland standout Trey Burke has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at Penn State University.
Matt's minutes
While other fall sports have been in postseason mode for a couple weeks, football programs around the state will join them when the pairings are released late this weekend. For some programs, a trip to the postseason is clinched, but for many others winning on Friday or Saturday night is simply not enough. They need a team to lose here and an opponent to win there so they can get into the postseason with their secondary points. For those players whose playoff hopes hang in the balance past Friday night, I say forget about what could happen and focus on the task at hand. If it is your last game in football pads, take ownership of the time you have left on the field and give yourself a memory to be proud of when looking back on this time in your lives.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports show host for WOBL and WDLW.
