Paying a visit to the variety store...
New look
Not only will the Lakeside Dragons have a new head coach on the sidelines for the 2013 season in the form of former Harbor High School star an Chardon assistant Frank Hall, but they will also be facing a different cast of characters in terms of opponents.
Gone is the traditional matchup with perennial power Howland — usually played on Thursday night of the first week.
Gone is the Week 2 clash with the Perry Pirates.
Gone is the Week 3 contest against Ashtabula County rival Edgewood.
Hall & Co. will kick off their 2013 season on the road on Friday, Aug. 30 at Youngstown East. It will mark the first meeting between the Dragons and the Panthers on the gridiron.
Lakeside had played Howland in its opener the past eight seasons, having dropped the last seven games, including a 43-16 verdict at Lakeside Stadium last fall.
Likewise, Lakeside has never played Brush in the 12 seasons the Dragons have been suiting up since ancient rivals Ashtabula and Harbor were consolidated before the 2001-02 school year. The Dragons and the Arcs will play in Lyndhurst in Week 2.
The Dragons had played Perry the previous two seasons in Week 2, coming out on the short end of 53-22 and 36-14 verdicts in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
There is history with Jefferson, Lakeside’s Week 3 opponent for its home opener, though. In fact, the Dragons and the Falcons played every season from 2001 through 2008. The one common dominator in those eight games — Lakeside won every one of them.
There will be even more intrigue in this one as Hall’s son, Quincy, is a nose tackle for coach Jimmy Henson’s Falcons.
With Jefferson replacing Edgewood on Lakeside’s schedule, it should be noted the Dragons will not be playing the only opponent they’ve defeated in their last 30 games on the gridiron.
Lakeside’s 20-0 triumph at Corlew Stadium in 2011 and its 20-14 of the playoff-bound Warriors last fall at Lakeside Stadium were the only victories in a 2-28 overall mark the last three seasons.
The Dragons’ final seven opponents will be against Premier Athletic Conference squads, in order — Riverside, Geneva, at University, at North, South, Madison and at Chardon.
Just the facts
Area high school spring sports varsity coaches and athletic directors are reminded that their respective preseason information sheets are due back to us here at the Star Beacon by Friday.
They can be sent via fax at 998-7938 or email at sports@starbeacon.com.
Sad news
I was saddened to heard of the passing of Steve Kudlock, who died at age 68 on Friday.
When yours truly had the pleasure of covering many contests during the great era of Conneaut sports in the early 2000s, Steve was always there as he was the father of one of the best all-around athletes to come out of the area in recent years, Char Kudlock.
A quiet guy, Steve was always pleasant and had his heart in the right place — always putting his kids first.
In fact, I almost had to drag some quotes out of him when I found out he played professional baseball at the minor-league level for the Boston Red Sox.
My condolences go out to his wife, Pat, daughters, Corrine and Char, step-daughter, Patricia, and the rest of his family.
And more
It brought a tear to my eye to learn of the death of The Rev. Meredith Coleman, who died at age 61 on Sunday after a long, courageous battle against cancer.
Pastor Meredith was the leader of my church, the Jefferson United Methodist Church, and was truly a wonderful person, an inspiration who had the pleasure of knowing her.
My sincere condolences to Pastor Meredith’s family.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
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DON McCORMACK
Discussion
A Don McCormack column: Dragons to have new list of foes
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A Don McCormack column: Letter hits home about mutual friend
Paying another visit to the varsity store...
From the heart
Whenever my inbox lights up, it’s usually never a dull moment.
But when the message comes from a state representative, it does require immediate attention. -
Area High School Softball Statistical Leaders:
INDIVIDUAL BATTING (minimum 40 at-bats)
PLAYER SCHOOL AVG OB% SLG% AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Lexi Zappitelli Conneaut .605 .632 .921 76 28 46 22 6 2 23 17
Brittany Baitt Riverside .518 .560 .831 83 32 43 5 6 3 21 0
Deanna Comp Jefferson .511 .582 .851 47 17 24 6 2 1 10 9
Amanda Mangelo Madison .486 .537 .806 72 23 35 2 6 3 20 0
Nikki Ochoa Madison .476 .533 .890 82 29 39 12 2 6 23 0
Abbie Thompson Madison .453 .500 .523 86 23 39 0 3 0 13 0 -
Late rally can’t save PV at Euclid
The Pymatuning Valley Lakers’ baseball season came to a close on Tuesday night at Euclid as they fell to Wickliffe, 4-2, in a Division III district semifinal.
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Area High School Softball records:
(throughTuesday)
TEAM OVERALL
Geneva 19-2 * 11-1 (PAC)
Riverside 22-4 9-3 (PAC)
Jefferson 21-5 * 9-1 (AAC)
St. John 9-3
Conneaut 13-7
Perry 12-7
PV 15-12 11-7 (NAC) -
Scholastic Statistics:
SOFTBALL
DIVISION I
DISTRICT SEMIFINAL
Riverside 1, Madison 0
at Mentor -
Scholastic Schedule:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
Baseball
Softball
Division I
at Mentor
District championship
(2) Mentor vs. (1) Riverside
Division II
at JAGS Complex, Jefferson
District semifinals
(6) Beaumont vs. (1) NDCL
(3) Jefferson vs. (2) Geneva -
Jefferson comes up a run short vs. Chagrin Falls
Whether it was the mistakes of a largely youthful team or just a case of bad timing, the Jefferson Falcons struggled to get hits with runners in scoring position during a Division II district semifinal final against Chagrin Falls.
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Edgewood can’t hold off charge of NDCL
Not many people expected a much out of the Edgewood Warrior baseball team this year.
With a young team featuring only two seniors, Edgewood advanced all the way to the district semifinal contest Monday night before losing an early lead and succumbing to a talented second-seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin team, 8-5. -
A Don McCormack column: Home fires burn for Fitch
Paying another visit to the variety store...
Homecoming
It didn’t take long for Ryan Fitch to find a new “home” as a basketball coach. -
PAC-ing a familiar punch
The Madison and Riverside softball teams are quite familiar with each other at this point in the season after having played each other twice during the regular season.
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