Tag Archive for: Jefferson

FALCONS TRIUMPH IN OVERTIME

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Contributed By Noah Ricks 

HOWLAND CENTER, OH – It was a crucial win-or-go-home scenario for both Jefferson and LaBrae. Both teams were fighting for something, the Falcons their first district title in school history, and the Vikings their second district title in three years. They would also both show what tournament basketball is all about. In a game that took overtime to finish, the Falcons would edge out LaBrae with just enough free throws to come out with the thrilling victory 72-69. Coach Rob Pisano thought his team made some mistakes down the stretch, but was pleased with how they ended the game.

 

“In the beginning of that game, they [LaBrae] played harder. They wanted it more than we did. Our guys settled down and settled in, and we didn’t play a great basketball game at all. People have seen us play. [But] I thought our guys played with unbelievable intensity and heart, and that was won by toughness down the stretch. They didn’t give up and hopefully we can play a little more of our basketball game Friday night. We’re going to bring some more of our offensive skills.”

 

Jefferson had some struggles with the Vikings in the first half as they struggled to shoot the ball, especially from downtown, which was their strong point throughout the season. Some quick transition points by LaBrae helped push them to an eleven-point lead in the second quarter. The Falcons, however, pushed it down to a 33-27 Viking game at intermission. Pisano thought that LaBrae was able to build up that lead thanks to those kinds of uncontested shots and misses. At halftime, he wanted his guys to get back to their game. 

 

“I just told them that we really, honestly, couldn’t play any worse, not just shooting. They were in there complaining at halftime about the shots, and I said this game’s not about the shots. You gave them five uncontested layups, which is ten points, and two uncontested, wide-open threes, which was, again, 16 of the 33 free, and that’s what I told them. I said this is a defensive game and a rebounding game. It came down to that. We weren’t doing that in the first half, forget that we couldn’t score, you know, we struggled shooting the ball, and that’s exactly what I told them at halftime.’’

 

Thanks to Pisano’s halftime speech, the Falcons came storming out of the gate and would have a strong 22-13 third quarter, thanks to better rebounding and better shooting. It was a tight fourth quarter as both teams were exchanging quick buckets and free throws. That was in part thanks to both teams picking up the tempo. Jefferson had many opportunities to put the game away in regulation and overtime, but couldn’t capitalize on most of those chances. They, however, did it for good on their third chance in the overtime period, also thanks to the Falcons making 10 of 14 foul shots on the night for 71.4%. Pisano stressed some costly turnovers down the stretch in those final minutes.

“Well, we made a bunch of bone-headed plays, you can say it. We made bone-headed plays down the stretch in regulation, a couple of drives to the hoop when we didn’t need to, off-balance. Just bring the ball out and run something and hopefully they’ll learn from it. You know, our program, Jefferson’s program hasn’t been deep into the playoffs in about six or seven years, so, wow. These kids grew up watching it when that group in 2015 was [in it], so they learned something tonight, and you know something, the big thing is, we just survived, not playing the greatest game, but we survived in it.”

 

The Falcons improve to 18-6 with the victory. Brock Bean led all scorers with 20 points. Jefferson will play in the district final at Howland on Friday night against the winner of the Campbell-Middlefield Cardinal game tomorrow night. A team that has averaged around 73 points a game throughout the season, Pisano will bring his high-powered Falcons into battle with their potential opponent in hopes of winning Jefferson’s first district championship in school history on the boys’ side.

 

“We’re going to prepare the same as we would if we were playing any other game. We’re going to do the things. We’re going to try to improve defensive rebounding, we’re going to play solid defense, we’re going to try to get out and run and hopefully more shots fall Friday night. Hopefully we bring our offensive game that we have the potential to score 85 on any given night, and that wasn’t there tonight, so, really either team, it’s not like we’re going to prepare any different.We change defenses, we mix things up, and just, hopefully we’re making shots.”

 

LaBrae ends the regular season at 16-6 with the heartbreaking loss. Devin Carter led the Vikings with 18, with Tre-Von Drake behind at 17, and Blake Kahnell at 16. This will be the second year in a row that the Vikings have lost in the district semifinals. Losing six seniors to graduation in May, coach Chad Kiser will start preparing for next year in hopes of winning their second district title in four years.

 

YSN’s Noah Ricks got a chance to talk to winning coach Rob Pisano following tonight’s contest. You can watch the full interview below.

 

POLAND’S VICTORY PUTS BLANCH ATOP WINS LIST

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POLAND OH- It was what you might call a retro night in Poland. Because of a schedule change, the Bulldogs were forced to play their game with Jefferson in their old gym now mainly used for physical education. Stories of the past ooze through the rustic floor. The gym that head coach Nick Blanch played on as a student would now become the same gym he would make history. Poland’s 56-33 win over Jefferson was career win 219 for Blanch. This puts him past Jamie Dunn as the winningest coach in program history. Coach Blanch was an assistant under coach Dunn, so he fully understands the magnitude of the achievement.

Leading the Bulldogs on the night was Morgan Kluchar who scored 16, including knocking down a pair of threes. Connie Cougras was also in double figures scoring 12. Katie McDonald added an important 9 points to the cause.

Jefferson made a big push out of halftime to cut the Poland lead to 2, but could muster up enough to push ahead. They were lead by Taylor Skinner with 10 points. Darbie Skytta chipped in with 6.

Poland can now officially look to South Range on Wednesday. It’s winner take all as both teams are tied for first place in the NE8. Jefferson also has South Range next on the schedule as they’ll travel to the Raiders gym on Monday.

Postgame Interview With Nick Blanch:

JEFFERSON TO EXIT NE8

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JEFFERSON OH- According to sources, Jefferson Area High School will be exiting the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference effective the 2023-2024 school year. Those same sources say that Jefferson will be heading to the Chagrin Valley Conference.

21 WFMJ Sports Director Dana Balash got a quote from Northeast 8 commissioner Rob Conklin.

Stay tuned to YSN for updates on developments to this ongoing story.

 

 

DANA’S TWEET:

POLAND MAKES THE LONG TRIP WORTH IT

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JEFFERSON OH- It’s not an easy trip to make for Poland, or any other NE8 team when they have to trek to Jefferson to take on the Falcons. On Thursday night though, the Bulldogs made the long trip worth it with a 59-37 win over the Falcons to end the first half of NE8 play undefeated.

Morgan Kluchar had a terrific night for the Bulldogs leading the way with 15 points. Katie McDonald was also in double figures with 10 points. Sarah Forsythe, and Connie Cougras both chipped in 5. 11 different Bulldogs found themselves on the stat sheet with at least 2 points.

Jefferson was paced by Taylor Skinner with 11 points. Trinity Alexander, and Monica Devine each had 8 to add to the Falcons cause.

Poland will start the second half of NE8 play on Monday as they host Hubbard. Jefferson will stay at home as well on Monday as they host Lakeview.

JEFFERSON PUTS ON A SHOW

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CANFIELD OH- Jefferson came in to Tuesday night’s game at South Range looking to start their league season with a bang. They did just that as they shot the lights out in the Raiders gym. Before you could blink, the Falcons had already hit six three pointers as a team. Led by Bobby Ray who was hit from the start, the Falcons shooting overwhelmed the Raiders zone defense.

However, South Range was not without fight. They would turn a 48-30 deficit in the third quarter to a 50-42 Jefferson lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Raiders ran out of gas though as Jefferson ran away with 4th Quarter, winning the frame 19-8, and winning the game 69-48.

Bobby Ray was electric all night for the Falcons and led them with 32 points. Grant Hitchcock also was a strong contributor while Brock Bean did hard work down low against a physical Raider defense. He even had to exit the game with a nasty cut. He had it taken care of, and seemed to come back even stronger.

The Raiders were led by Landon Moore with 16 points. Ayden Leon added a solid 8 points to the effort.

Jefferson returns to action on Friday as they will host Girard. South Range will stay at home as well as they look to get on track hosting Lakeview on Friday.

 

Postgame Interview with Rob Pisano:

 

Postgame Interview With Bobby Ray:

 

GIRARD TAKES HOME OVERTIME WIN

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By Noah Ricks

GIRARD, OH – It is only early December, but that did not stop the Girard and Jefferson girls’ basketball teams from playing a very good Northeast 8 matchup for everybody to see. In a game that went into overtime, coach Andrew Saxon and the Indians used a strong extra period to hold off the Falcons 44-42 on their home floor and pick up their first victory in the conference on the year.

 

“It’s a big win,” Saxon told YSN’s Noah Ricks. “We were 0-1, now we’re 1-1. Now hopefully we can pull off a few more. We have two more games coming up before we have a non-league game, so hopefully we can win those two.

 

After an evenly matched first quarter that saw both teams score 9 on the board, Jefferson got things going in the second period by having a strong 11-2 quarter. Taylor Skinner, the big girl for the Falcons, used a dominant defensive game to slow down Girard’s big girl in Mia Malito. Her aggressive, fundamental defense held Malito in check as she was only held to two points. Malito would end up fouling out of the contest with 1:17 to go in regulation. Skinner ended the night with 15 to lead all scorers. 

 

With Malito being held silent, senior Abbie Rafferty would have to step up for the Indians. Taking over the majority of the point position for the injured Seiassia Triplett (who suffered a foot injury in Saturday’s win against Beaver Local), Saxon relied on her to get sets run and help the Indians come back from a 22-11 deficit in the third quarter. Much needed drives to the bucket and important mid-range shots helped tie the game up at 36-36 at the end of regulation. She would end the night leading the Indians with 13. 

 

“I think, (in) the first half, we played real timid. We weren’t attacking the hoop and we were basically going horizontally, so I just said, you know, take the ball to the hoop, they’re up in your face, and you have got to play vertical. You’re making it easy for the defense when you go horizontally, so we started taking the ball to the hoop a little bit better, and we started getting some putbacks, and we made some baskets. And we shot pretty well from the free throw line, and it’s definitely a plus in a close game.”

 

The Indians picked up this overtime win after a heartbreaking 48-44 loss at home Monday to Lakeview. They used that lost game as motivation in the second half comeback. Girard also rebounded in spite of Triplett’s injury. Saxon was very happy with how his short-handed team handled this kind of adversity.

 

“You know, we lost our point guard for a few weeks, our leading scorer, our leading rebounder, and it was an adjustment, and we almost got that game, but I think the girls made a really good adjustment without having her, run the point, and I think the other two girls who run the point did a real nice job. You know, it’s an adjustment when you lose your best scorer, your best player probably, and we really rebounded back ”

 

The Indians will improve to 4-2 overall as they go to 1-1 in conference play. They end their three-game home stretch with a 2-1 mark as they hit the road to play the Hubbard Eagles. Saxon knows that his team must use these early-season conference games to their advantage.

 

“We are going to come out. We are going to try to play baseline to baseline, and run them, and move the ball down the floor, and hopefully those shots will fall for us.”

 

The Falcons with the heartbreaking loss will drop below .500 for the first time this year at 3-4 with a 1-2 record in Northeast 8 play. They are currently on a three-game losing streak as they will go back home next Thursday to take on conference foe Struthers. 

 

You can watch the full interview with Coach Andrew Saxon and YSN’s Noah Ricks below.

Postgame Interview With Andrew Saxon:

RAIDERS DEFENSE COMES THROUGH AT JEFFERSON

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JEFFERSON OH-The South Range Lady Raiders put their mark in the win column Monday night with a 31-27 victory over Jefferson.

Lexi Giles scored 11 points with Devin Sauerwein adding 8 points.

The Lady Raiders return to action Thursday as they travel to Cortland to take on the Lakeview Bulldogs.

*Contributed By YSN’s Gary Leininger

JEFFERSON GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH TJ FURMAN

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JEFFERSON OH- The NE8 seems to be a wide open conference in 2021, and a talk with a lot of coaches in the league will quickly tell you that Jefferson is a threat to end up at the top. They return a ton of big scorers, and vocal leaders that will turn the Falcons into a formidable foe.

Head coach TJ Furman was kind enough to stop by YSN’s Running Point this week to give us a look behind the Jefferson curtain. He talks with Ty Bartell, and Anthony Hartwig about the talent they’re returning, what makes Jefferson so special, and much more. Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with TJ Furman is live.

 

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POLAND PROVES TOO MUCH FOR FALCONS

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JEFFERSON OH- Poland Defense Bites Jefferson
It was all defense on a wet and rainy October night in Jefferson. As The Falcons welcomed in another NE8 foe. This time in the form of The Poland Bulldogs.

As both teams tried to use a strong rushing attack to gain yards on one another. As both quarterbacks piled up the yard totals in the box score.

As Grant Hitchcock rushed 14 times for 112 yards and a touchdown on the ground for Jefferson. On the other side, Jack Fulton rushed 9 times for 110 yards and a couple of scores on the night.
However, it was the defense for Poland that was the difference maker Friday night.

As Poland held Jefferson multiple times when The Falcons had their opportunities to score. It was the strong defensive front of The Bulldogs that held its own against a tough Jefferson offensive line.

The Bulldog secondary also came up big, holding Jefferson to 9 for 29 passing and just 39 yards.
Both teams recorded an interception on the night; however, two passing plays on the night for Poland helped shape the night for The Bulldogs.
As Ross Dedo recorded a 39 yard pass in the first half. The second half saw a big completion for 30+ yards from Jack Fulton to Cole Fulton.
The win for Poland will set them up with good playoff position, as the loss could spell the end for The Falcons playoff hopes.

Jefferson hosts Lakeview next week. While Poland will welcome The Struthers Wildcats for week 10.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

RAIDERMANIA RUNS WILD ON JEFFERSON

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CANFIELD, OH- Entering Raider Stadium on Friday night, you could feel a special night was about to occur.  It was “Tackle Cancer” night for South Range, where players, coaches, cheerleaders, and fans alike were decked out in pink to support breast cancer awareness.

There was more than that, though.  You could feel that even with a little extra electricity in the air, the undefeated Raiders were hungry- and Jefferson was to be the main course.

Only nobody told them.

The opening drive lasted five plays as South Range continued to showcase their quick-strike abilities as Billy Skripac capped the first drive with a five-yard carry into the end-zone to put the Raiders on top 7-0.

The lead was short-lived with Jefferson Freshman, Kaige Boczar taking the ensuing kickoff back to the house down the left sideline from 88-yards out to knot the game at 7-7.

Then, Dylan Dominguez and Shane Lindstrom (AKA The Mega Powers) entered the match, and just as Hulk Hogan entertained 90,000 people against Andre The Giant in Wrestlemania III, the dynamic duo dazzled the Raider fans for the rest of the night.

Dominguez would take the first of his four touchdowns in from 19 yards out with just under nine minutes left to go in the first quarter, followed by another on the next drive from 38 yards out with a few ticks under 5-minutes remaining in the first stanza to give the Raiders a 21-7 lead.

Falcon QB Grant Hitchcock showed incredible athleticism behind his line, as he found himself in the endzone on the tail end of a 52-yard scamper to keep Jefferson in the fight.

However, the finisher came at the hands of Lindstrom just moments before halftime when the madness took over on an 82-yard punt return as time expired on the first half.  Lindstrom’s return was more out of the movie “Dodgeball” as he dodged, dove dipped, ducked, and…hurdled his way into the paint before being practically carried into the locker room at the break with a 42-21 lead.

Following the halftime festivities, The Raiders came out firing through the air as Skripac would fire a strike to Connor Jones from 11-yards out, only to be encored by Dominguez again with the ground attack from 65 yards out to cap the Raiders 63-21 victory.

South Range would rack up 313 yards on the ground and 176 yards through the air to stack their eighth straight victory in the 2021 campaign.  Dylan Dominguez would carry the ball nine times for 185 yards and four scores.  Billy Skripac would rush 8 times for 72 yards, and throw for 176 as well.

Grant Hitchcock would lead Falcon rushers with 9 carries for 101 yards and a score while taking to the skies 21 times and completing 14 passes for 88 yards.  Wade Woodworth would add a score on 43 yards rushing on 20 attempts.  Kaige Boczar would have six receptions for 44 yards.

The Raiders (8-0) now turn their attention and prepare for a road game against Lakeview in Week 9, while Jefferson (3-5) will look to keep their playoff dreams alive against Poland next week at the Falcon Nest.

Both games will be on YSNLive.com.