Tony’s Takes: OHSAA Tournament Edition

<p>It’s finally here. The OHSAA State Tournament kicks off Friday and I will be in attendance throughout the weekend. To get us started in coverage, I preview and take my picks to win the Semifinal games Friday and Saturday as there is not a bad game at all on the docket.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Division I</span></p> <p>Centerville vs. St. Ignatius- The undefeated Elks put their 28-0 record on the line against a St. Ignatius team very familiar with the State tournament after making it to the State Semifinals just last season. For Centerville, they have a disciplined defense and many offensive weapons in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867934" first="Gabe" last="Cupps"]</strong> (2023), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="921745" first="Rich" last="Rolf"]</strong> (2022), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809612" first="Tom" last="House"]</strong> (2022). St. Ignatius brings a younger core with a mixture of some upperclassmen primarily led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1222346" first="Calvin" last="Little"]</strong> (2024) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1222357" first="Carter" last="Jackson"]</strong> (2024). Iggy has the familiarity but Centerville is just too overwhelming talented for me to see them losing a game before the State Finals.  <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Centerville</strong></p> <p>Pickerington Central vs. St. Edward- Pickerington Central picked up one of the biggest wins of the tournament when they knocked out Gahanna Lincoln in the Regional Finals and now have a chance to setup the showdown with Centerville for Division I. The Tigers have a ton of talent headlined by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867953" first="Sonny" last="Styles"]</strong> (2023) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"]</strong> (2023) and have great guard play and size to go along with them. St. Ed’s arguably had the easier path to the State Semi’s but in no way are they not deserving of this opportunity. Led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="921749" first="Michael" last="Bova"]</strong> (2022), the Eagles have the winning pedigree and coaching to give anyone a battle. The question is, who do the Eagles have that can matchup with Royal and Styles? <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Pickerington Central</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Division II</span></p> <p>Alter vs St. Vincent-St. Mary- These two have been on a crash course to make it to UD Arena but some likely saw this being a State Final game vs Semifinal. Alter has been one of the most consistent teams in the state and not lost since December. They have a plethora of juniors in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1201839" first="Anthony" last="Ruffolo"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1219837" first="Aj" last="Leen"]</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1052785" first="Gavin" last="Geisel"]</strong> as well as seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967172" first="Ryan" last="Chew"] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809602" first="Jacob" last="Conner"]</strong> to make up one of the best starting five’s in the state. The Knights play tough defense and can be very hard to score on. SVSM returns as the defending state champions and have one of the best players in the state in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787627" first="Sencire" last="Harris"]</strong> (2022) to lead their group. The Irish have been on a tear winning their tournament games by an average of 20+ points per game. They too have pieces in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809600" first="Ramar" last="Pryor"]</strong> (2022), <strong>LA Hayes</strong> (2023), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1181712" first="Kevin" last="Hamilton"]</strong> (2023) that make them another talented team in the division. This game truly could be a state final, but it’s hard to pick against Dru Joyce and his SVSM teams in March. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: SVSM</strong></p> <p>Waverly vs Gilmour Academy- Waverly is back in the state tournament and has been an under-the-radar team in the state out of Southeast Ohio. The Tigers know how to win in close games as they won both their Regional matchups in OT and were under 50 points scored. They have some key seniors in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967167" first="Trey" last="Robertson"]</strong> and <strong>Will Futhey</strong> that they lean on to carry this group. Gilmour Academy arrives to UD Arena a bit unexpected as the Lancers had to beat Buchtel, Toledo Central Catholic, and St. Mary’s Memorial to get to State. This group has won when they needed to and have a group of upperclassmen they lean on led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139230" first="Ryan" last="Mueller"]</strong> (2022) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1163471" first="Brandon" last="Rose"]</strong> (2023). This is a hard game to pick and I could see either teams advancing. Ultimately, if the game is held under 50 points, Waverly will have the edge. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Waverly</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Division III</span></p> <p>Africentric vs Ottawa-Glandorf- Just one of two massive showdowns in Division III! Africentric made it to Dayton after beating one of Southeast Ohio’s top teams (Fairland) and Eastern Ohio’s top teams (Garaway) to earn their right to play at UD Arena. After missing the postseason last year due to COVID, the Nubians are hungry and playing on another level in February/March. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="922605" first="Dailyn" last="Swain"]</strong> (2023) is capable of taking over a game at any time and has some support guys in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809627" first="Dan" last="Wagner"]</strong> (2022) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1163468" first="Preston" last="Steele"]</strong> (2022) to help guide the Nubians. O-G returns to Dayton after being defeated a year ago to eventual state champion Lutheran East. The Titans had one of the biggest wins in the tournament as they defeated previous undefeated Colonel Crawford to get to Dayton. Led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1222349" first="Colin" last="White"]</strong>, the Titans have a chance to beat anyone with their style of play and coaching. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Africentric</strong></p> <p>Taft vs Lutheran East- Both of these teams are back after making it to the State Semifinals a year ago. Taft returns arguably a better team than last year to take on the defending state champions. Led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867936" first="Rayvon" last="Griffith"]</strong> (2023), the Senators have a deeper team with good guard play in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809611" first="Mekhi" last="Elmore"]</strong> (2022) and <strong> Brandon Cromer</strong> (2022) and size with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1088811" first="Eian" last="Elmer"]</strong> (2023) and <strong>Kieran Granville-Britten</strong> (2025). The Lue returns to state as the defending champions, but with a much different group than last year. Adding <strong>Jamail Spivey</strong> (2022), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="922597" first="Nelson" last="Johnson"]</strong> (2023), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867939" first="Cody" last="Head"]</strong> (2023) in the offseason helped offset losing 6 scholarship players to graduation from that state champion team. With a quality big in <strong>Jesse McCullough</strong> (2024), the Lue has depth themselves to challenge the Senators in what should be an exciting game. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Taft</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Division IV</span></p> <p>Richmond Heights vs Berlin Hiland- Richmond Heights returns to UD Arena after having their hearts broken to eventual champion Botkins last year. The Spartans have incredible talent for a Division IV team led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809590" first="Josiah" last="Harris"]</strong> with a great combination of size and athleticism. A plethora of freshman and upperclassmen around Harris makes this a very dangerous team to matchup with. Hiland silently fought their way to Dayton winning their Regional games by a combined 8 points. The Hawks lack that blockbuster name on their roster, but they have a winning culture and have been taking care of business on the defensive end. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Richmond Heights</strong></p> <p>Tri-Village vs Antwerp- Tri-Village made it out of the gauntlet that is Region 16 dethroning defending champion Botkins in the Regional Final. The Patriots are another team mainly upperclassmen heavy and led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967174" first="Layne" last="Sarver"]</strong> (2022) and <strong>Wilson Suggs</strong> (2023) among others. Their high scoring offense plus their size makes Tri-Village a true contender to cut down the nets if they get by the Archers of Antwerp. The Archers bring to the table one of the more defensive minded teams in the tournament holding Marion Local and Tiffin Calvert both under 35 points in their Regional wins. Led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809640" first="Jagger" last="Landers"]</strong>, Antwerp has enough pieces around Landers to still be a prominent offense and will give Tri-Village a challenge to account for. <strong>TONY’S TAKE: Antwerp</strong></p>