Tag Archive for: Bulldogs

THE FORSYTH TO MAKE SOMETHING GREAT

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The transition between being an eighth grade student athlete, and a high school one is not always easy. The game is faster, it demands more dedication and focus, and school work demands more time. For Poland freshman Sarah Forsyth the transition took a little bit of time to adjust to, but once she did she hit the ground running. Coach Blanch says it’s hard sometimes for players to immediately make the change over to the high school level. He says once Sarah figures it out she quickly grew as a player. Sarah also says that initially she felt the pressure of coming in to a program that had so much success last season. The family bond that this program has built quickly did away with any pressure she had about being on the team. Now she gets to just be herself go out and know that her entire team is behind her. That is a freeing feeling for the freshman. Foresight is defined as the ability to predict future events, and Coach Blanch has the foresight to know something great is on the horizon with Sarah Forsyth. 

Anthony Hartwig sat down with Sarah this week after the team’s big win over Howland. They discuss coming into the program as a freshman, first interactions with Coach Blanch, and much more. The regular season is winding down but the player profiles are heating up. Enjoy the latest one in the Poland series The Forsyth To Make Something Great.

POLAND SEND TIGERS PACKING IN HOME FINALE

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POLAND OH- The Poland Lady Bulldogs Player their final regular season home game Monday night, and they didn’t disappoint their fans. They dominated a good Howland team 59-28.

It was all Poland from the tip as their defense dominated the Tigers. They held Howland to just 8 first half points. A huge part to the Bulldogs success was their gritty rebounding. Howland has the clear height advantage. Five girls on Howland’s roster were taller than Poland’s tallest. None of that mattered though as the Bulldogs put rebounded Howland by a ton. Howland could never get easy buckets off of offensive rebounds.

The third quarter was probably the Bulldogs best on offense. They nearly doubled their halftime total. Kailyn Brown was a big reason as she started to hit a stride out of the gates in the second half. She scored 11 of her 19 in the third.

Jackie Grisdale led the Bulldogs in scoring with 20, Brown finished with 19.

Poland plays their regular season finale Thursday night as they travel to Canfield. The Cardinals best Poland 46-42 in December.

BEAVERS CAGE EAST PALESTINE ON SENIOR NIGHT

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EAST LIVERPOOL, OH- The Beavers defeated the Bulldogs by 40 on Saturday night to honor the 5 seniors (Luke Chetock, Josh Hilditch, Tate Joseph, Jaden Kiddey, and Logan Reed) the right way.

The first half was competitive, as the teams exchanged leads early in the game. The Beavers were able to create a little separation to end the first quarter and hold on to that going into halftime. After the break, the Beavers came out firing, getting transition bucket after transition bucket to open the fourth quarter with a 30 point lead. Coach Nick Miller then took the seniors off the floor one by one as the fans gave them a standing ovation. The Beavers won by the final score of 91-51. They improve to 12-8 heading into OVAC play.

Luke Chetock drained 5 three’s as he finished with 28. Logan Reed had a night as well, scoring 21 on the night, as Josh Hilditch chipped in 10 of his own.

Jonathan Bertovich came into the game averaging 26 a game and did not disappoint, scoring 32 on the night.  Payton Elliott contributed to the Bulldogs scoring summary with 8.

The Beavers will play an away OVAC game this upcoming Tuesday, while East Palestine will face Lowellville.

 

*Story contributed by YSN’s Michael McKenzie

GIRARD RUNS PAST BULLDOGS

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GIRARD, OH- It was a good night in Girard for Senior Night. The three Girard seniors Lindsay Cave, Isabella Minotti and Rachel Sobnosky got to a win to close out their home schedule. Girard won 51-42 over Lakeview. Leading Girard in scoring was Sieasia Triolett with 17 points. Sophie Griffith added 10 points and 9 rebounds. Lindsay Cave scored 6 points. Emily Fitzgerald and Marissa Cave each added 5 points. Jalaya Brown scored 4 points and 5 steals. Isabella Minotti and Madison Logue each scored 2 points. Helping with the senior night win without scoring were Rachel Sobnosky, Sehan Dede, Emily Drennen, Abby Rafferty, Allison Durkin and Esra Dede.

*Story Contributed by Richard Plant On Girardindians.org

JOHNSTON BEATS BUZZER; BULLDOGS BEAT LISBON

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LISBON, OH- Kenzee Johnston is determined to go out on her terms to finish her senior season.  The EP guard finished with 17 points and paced the Bulldogs on the way to a thrilling victory over Lisbon 51-50 Thursday night.

The Bulldogs trailed the entire game and were down by 6 in the last minute of the game before East Palestine blazed back into the game to pull off the conference win on the road.  With under ten seconds remaining in the game, and the Bulldogs down a pair, the ball was rolled in play when Payton Sherry picked up the ball just before midcourt, took a couple of dribbles before dishing to Johnston who without hesitation- drained the shot from beyond the arc.

Also contributing to the victory for East Palestine was Joclyn Fristik with 12.  Payton Sherry and Morgan Rutledge each chipped in 7 apiece.

For Lisbon, thousand point scorers Maddie Liberati led all scorers with 24, while Izzy Perez turned in 21.

 

POLAND CLAIMS NE8 TITLE ON SENIOR NIGHT

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POLAND OH- Four seniors wee recognized before the game at Poland on Thursday night. Brooke Bobbey, Kailyn Brown, Sarah Bushaw, and Katie Masucci all took in their moment of honor as the program thanked them for their many years of service. The Bulldogs sent the seniors out with a bang, grabbing a 52-21 win over Niles and securing their second straight NE8 Championship.

All four seniors were in the starting lineup on Thursday, and they definitely started fast. Poland scored 20 points in the first quarter, 17 of which came from their four seniors. Kailyn Brown lead the way with 7.

With that first frame as a standard, the offense slowed down in the middle of the game. Only scoring 16 points in the next two quarters. However, in the fourth quarter when Coach Blanch put all four seniors on the floor again the Bulldogs doubled that and added another 16 to their total. It was truly a night of senior dominance. Each senior was individually subbed out in the final quarter and given a wonderful ovation. In a even more special moment, Katie Masucci was subbed out by her sister Hannah who got to be the first person to hug her coming off the floor.

Poland win completes a two season 28-0 record in the NE8. It’s been all Bulldogs since the leagues birth last season.

Jackie Grisdale led the way offensively with 17 points. Katie Masucci was also in double figures with 10. 30 of the final 52 points for Poland were scored by seniors.

Nae Fryer led Niles with 14 points.

Poland looks ahead to their home finale against Howland on Monday.

NOT TOO SHABBY, ABBY

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The transition between freshman and sophomore year is a crucial time in a player’s development.  They go from being a newcomer welcomed by the group, to being a greeting party for the next incoming freshman. For Poland sophomore Abby Farmer that transition was seamless. She says that seeing how welcoming last years team was to her last season made it easy to return the favor to the new faces this year.She couldn’t say enough about the senior leadership on the team, and how emotional their senior night will be for all of the younger players.  It is something that Coach Blanch stresses as a tentpole of their program. The family mentality, and the idea that no one is more or less important than the person next to them. As far as basketball goes Abby is on the rise. She set personal goals this year to get better on defense, and to get her shot improved. Coach Blanch says she is relentless on defense with an attitude to never get beat. It’s her work ethic that has taken her this far. She buys in to every standard the program sets. Coach Blanch expects amazing things from this sophomore in the years to come, and so do the Poland faithful. You can hear them chattering in the stands when Farber makes a play “that’s not too shabby” 

Anthony Hartwig made the trip to Poland this week to talk to Abby. They discuss her transition from freshman to sophomore, what senior night will be like for her, and much more. Get a nice snack and listen to the latest Poland Lady Bulldog Player Profile Not Too Shabby, Abby. 

POLAND GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP9 WITH NICK BLANCH)

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Another week has come and gone for the Poland Lady Bulldogs. It was another week of wind in the NE8. They took a game over Jefferson, and then followed that up with a win at Hubbard in their last road test in the league. Now they look forward to senior night on Thursday as they welcome in Niles. Nick Blanch says senior nights are very bitter sweet. He can’t wait to recognize four players who have given so much to the program, but knows time with them is counting down. 

Anthony Hartwig went to Poland this week to catch up with Coach Blanch. They discuss the week that was, senior night, and much more. You won’t want to miss this one, get ready for Episode 9 of Coach’s Corner with Nick Blanch. 

*** NOTE: YSN will broadcast senior night live Thursday night. It is set to begin at 6:30.

BLUE DEVILS SILENCE BULLDOGS

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LISBON, OH – On a night that saw two teams battle each other hard from opening tip to final buzzer, it was the Lisbon Blue Devils that emerged victorious over the East Palestine Bulldogs, 60-48. Each team came into the game knowing that a win would go a long way when playoff voting begins this weekend.

Both teams started off the first quarter with a bit of a dry spell as Lisbon ended the quarter up 7-5. The second quarter saw both teams trade baskets and get hot from the field as the score favored the Blue Devils 25-20 at the half. The second half however saw Lisbon start to stretch their legs a little bit and control the tempo as they would eventually pull away for a twelve point victory.

East Palestine was led by Johnathan Bertovich with 22 points and Zion Figley with 7 points.

Lisbon was led by Michael Davis with 23 points. Ryan McCullough chipped in with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kaden Crawford also added 7 rebounds tonight.

Up next for the Lisbon Blue Devils (8-10) will be a home match up with their rivals, the Columbiana Clippers on Friday, February 7th. It will also be senior night for the Blue Devils as they will honor their five seniors before the game.

The East Palestine Bulldogs (3-13) will be on the road again this Friday, as they will travel up to Columbiana to take on the Lions of Heartland Christian.

MUSLOVSKI STAYS RED-HOT; CLIPPERS BOUNCE BULLDOGS

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EAST PALESTINE, OH- It was a game that was circled on the calendars for both teams, albeit, for different reasons.  East Palestine was attempting to gain its first victory over the Clippers in the Muslovski-era of Columbiana, while Columbiana was looking to lock up a stranglehold on the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference.  It ended up being Columbiana who showed up shooting off the bus, essentially, on their way to a 75-33 drubbing of the Lady Bulldogs.

Columbiana Senior, Kayla Muslovski, was phenomenal in her finale against the Bulldogs putting up 36 points in about 3 and a half quarters of play.  Grace Witmer also showed up in a big way adding 10 in the scorebook for Columbiana while Karissa Tringhese and Grace Hammond set the tone on the glass combining for 16 boards.

For East Palestine, Morgan Rutledge led the way with 12 points and was supplemented by Kenzee Johnston’s 7, and Paige Snyder’s 6 tallies.

Both team’s next test will be against Southern Local.  East Palestine (10-7, 6-4) will host the Lady Indians on Wednesday while Columbiana (15-3,11-0) will travel to The Wigwam Thursday to wrap up their conference schedule.

PHOTOS: HERE