Tag Archive for: Leopards

HARDING DASHES PAST LIBERTY

LIBERTY OH- Liberty continued their hard opening slate of games as following a tight loss to Cardinal Mooney earlier this week the Leopards played host to the Warren G. Harding Raiders on Friday night. The night belonged to the Raiders from start to finish as every shot they took seemed to find the mark for the majority of the game. It was a perfect night as every play that was drawn up created an opening for Warren.

After the first quarter it was clear that it would not be a game that Liberty was going to want to remember as they trailed 17-6, which included an 11-0 run to start the quarter. Harding continued to increase their lead in the second quarter as they pushed themselves out to a 37-9 lead going into the half thanks to a phenomenal effort from Patien Stevenson.

The Raiders forced a running clock in the second half as they took home a 64-27 victory over the Leopards who drop to (0-2) to start the season. Liberty will look to bounce back on the road on Tuesday against Lakeview before they return home on Friday to play host to Hoban.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

WATSON CLIMBS TO 1,000 IN LEOPARDS WIN

The Ladies of Liberty got off to a good start at home Friday night as they picked up their first win of the season behind the shooting of their two stars in Demi Watson and Aaliyah Foster. Division 1 Hudson came to town with two wins on the season and a big size advantage, but that size advantage would be nullified by the Leopards new six-footer in Makayla Beckett who locked down the painted area and forced bad shot after bad shot down low. She also found a rhythm on the other end from the midrange that forced the Explorers to have to chase her out of the paint which opened up driving lanes for Watson and Foster. Liberty went on all the right runs at all the right times and the visiting Explorers had no shot to get passed the Leopards who are clearly back into their rhythm from a season ago.

Foster could do no wrong as she finished with 26-points in route to a massive Leopards victory. Liberty moved to (1-1) on the season with a 58-43 win. Aaliyah Foster now has 48-points in the first two games. They will take on Canfield on Monday night as part of a three-game road stretch that will include MVAC Gray-Tier opponents Crestview and Brookfield. Hudson dropped their first game of the year and will remain on the road to take on Stow-Monroe Falls on Wednesday

Demi Watson made history in this game as she joined an elite club at Liberty High School as she hit 1000 career points. With this mark, her and her sister become the first pair of siblings to hit that mark at Liberty. Both did it while being coached by their mother and head coach Deidre Watson, who is a member of the Campbell-Memorial athletic hall of fame for her time playing basketball.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

LEOPARDS HOLD UP FOR FIRST WIN

LOUISVILLE OH- It’s been a tough opening for Louisville. Their first two games of the season were against power houses in Division 1, and it wouldn’t get any easier on Wednesday as they welcomed in a up and coming Boardman team. The Leopards jumped out to an early lead, and then had to keep a Spartans comeback from getting out of control. They’d go on to hoist their first win of the season 51-46.

Brooke Haren has been leading the Leopards all season, and that trend didn’t change. She scored 17 points to lead the way.  Taryn Miglich was right behind her scoring 14 points to get herself in double figures.  Taylor McCully also finished in double digits for Louisville scoring 11.

Mackenzie Riccitelli finished the game with a game-high 18 points for Boardman.  Gia Triveri put in an important 10 points.  Boardman came back from being down 14-2 after one quarter of play.  They won, or tied the next three quarters.

Louisville is now 1-2 and will continue play on Thursday December 8th as they host Howland.  Boardman will return home to host Poland on Monday.

MOONEY GETS DRAMA FROM THE JUMP

LIBERTY OH- Cardinal Mooney and the Leopards faced off in Liberty to start the season Tuesday night. Mooney comes into the year having won the district championship in each of the last two seasons. The Leopards were eliminated by Cardinal Mooney at home last season in the district semifinals. Each team had to replace a number of key players from a year ago as Mooney brought up five guys to the varsity program and Liberty brought up eight new players.

The lack of experience was evident early on in this one as neither team had much of a shooting rhythm in the first quarter as a tight defensive battle gave way to a 6-5 Mooney lead heading into the first break of the night. However, after such a slow start each team began to click as we reached the halfway point of the night as Nick Pregibon for Mooney led all scorers going into halftime with 8-points and for a few minutes had taken over the Cardinals offense. But the Leopards would not be denied from distance as they cashed in on five threes from Silas Robinson, Bra‘Sean Black, and Dearmani Franklin in the second quarter to take a 22-15 lead into the break.

With fresh legs and a revamped defensive scheme Mooney was able to retake control of the game out of the halftime break as Jibri Carter and Rocco Turner finally hit a switch after combining for just 3-points in the first half as they drained shot after shot. The Leopards went a little chilly from range in the third and that allowed Mooney to sneak right back in. They went into the fourth quarter in a 1-point game thanks to a buzzer beater three from Carter 34-33 with the Leopards still out in front. Both teams gave it their all in the final quarter of play as Kalen Turner got hot from deep. But the defending district champions would not be denied a win to start the season as they were able to hit clutch shots in the late stages and near perfect free throw shooting put them in position to win despite a late Leopards push.

Mooney took home the season opening win 47-43 over the Leopards who drop to (0-1) on the season. Both teams will look to continue to build the chemistry with their younger teams as the season rolls on as Mooney will stay on the road as they visit Boardman this Friday, and the Leopards will remain at home to host the Warren G. Harding Raiders on Friday. Player of the game went to Jibri Carter as he finished the game second on the team in points with 11 and was given the award for his outstanding shooting down the stretch that flipped the momentum away from the Leopards and gave his team all that they needed to take home the win. Rocco Turner led Mooney with 13 points and Kalen Turner led all scorers with 14 points.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

EAST MEANS BUSINESS

YOUNGSTOWN OH- After dropping their first game of the season to Lakeview in overtime, East won their next two games in decisive fashion. They headed home on Monday night to take on a mighty Liberty team coming off a district championship, and returning just about everybody.  The Bears were not bothered by the task however, as they edged out Liberty 42-40 and seriously opened some eyes around the area.  East won despite being outscored 27-20 in the second half.

Samair Colon led East with 15 points on the night. She also played lock down defense on the talent Leopards guards.  Alyssa Crankfield was also in double figures for East scoring 10 points.

Liberty was led by Aaliyah Foster with a game-high 22 points.  Demi Watson, and Kylee Thomas both finished the night with 9 points for the Leopards.

East is now 3-1 on the season and they will continue their run on Wednesday as they go to Niles. Liberty will try to bounce back on Friday night as they host Hudson in a Girls/Boys double header.

GREEN STAYS STRONG THROUGH LEOPARDS RALLY

LOUISVILLE OH- After a tough loss on Tuesday to a Division 1 State Qualifier in Jackson Louisville spent Saturday looking for their first win of the season. They’d have to go up against a tough Green team coming on the road for their first game of the season.  Green was an 18 win team a season ago, and fell in the tournament to the same Jackson team Louisville lost to on Tuesday.  After a back and forth battle, Green was able to pull away in the final frame to take a 51-41 lead. After Brooke Haren scored 7 points in a row on her own, Louisville cut it to 51-48.  Green answered with a 7-0 run of their own and closed out a 60-51 victory.

The Bulldogs were led by a gritty effort from 5’10 senior guard Mallory Ondo. Oddo scored 24 points for the Bulldogs and shot 75% from the field.  Sophomore Jenna Skates added an impressive game inside the paint with 16 points.  Riley Chmielewski added 9 points for Green, including some clutch free throws late.

Brooke Haren led the Leopards with 23 points on the day.  She hit three shots from behind the arc.  Taryn Miglich also hit three triples on her way to 11 points.  Courtney Barwick finished the day with 6 points.

Louisville will have 7 days to prepare for Akron Hoban next Saturday at 5:00.  Green will have their home opener on Wednesday against Glen Oak.

LEOPARDS SHOW GRIT AGAINST REIGNING REGIONAL CHAMPS

LOUISVILLE OH- Louisville knew all too well how hard their first game of the year was going to be when the schedule came out.  To open their new campaign they welcomed in Massillon Jackson who made it all the way to Dayton last season. Returning one of the best players in the state in future Wisconsin Badger Leena Patibandla, the Polar Bears are no joke.  The Leopards went toe to toe with Jackson, but in the end they couldn’t stand up to their strength and fell 62-44.

Taylor McCully led the way for the Leopards with 14 points. Courtney Barwick was also in double figures with 11.  Taryn Miglich contributed 9 points to the cause. The Polar Bears were led by Patibandla with a game-high 21.

Louisville will stay at home on Saturday as they host Green. Tip off for that game is set for 1:30.

MEYER CLOCKS BEST TIME FROM OHIO IN CROSS COUNTRY TOWN USA MEET

TERRE HAUTE IN- Louisville freshman Kylah Meyer already has a fantastic high school season under her belt. In her first year with the Leopards she managed to become a state qualifier. The numbers don’t lie, Kylah is one of the best runners in the area.  In the state meet, Meyer finished 37th out of 173.  Over the weekend Meyer put her skills to the ultimate test as she traveled to Terre Haute Indians to compete in the Cross Country USA meet. Terre Haute is known to be the hotspot for cross country in America, and attracts some of the top runners you can find. Kylah ran well finishing with a time of 19:08 which was good for 3rd overall, and the best time clocked by a runner from Ohio.  This accomplishment only adds to the excitement of what we are going to see out of Kylah’s future.

GARFIELD RESPONDS WITH CRUCIAL WIN

GARRETTSVILLE, OH- As we wrap up the regular season and get ready for postseason football, matchups in week 10 are always the most fun to watch. Garfield and Liberty faced off Friday night in a rematch from last season as the G-Men were looking to keep this season’s week 10 game more in their hands. Both teams started off hot with opening scores, but Garfield’s power would be too much for the Leopards as the G-Men walked away with a 56-27 victory. 

Liberty got off to a great start with 87-yard bomb by Tyson Lawrence-Watson who found Dwayne Moody for the opening score. Garfield roared right back with a 53-yard pass of their own when Eric Geddes lobbed one up to Deacon Sommer. But just like last year, the Leopards punched right back to regain the lead from a kickoff return after the G-Men tied it up. Unfortunately for Liberty, Garfield caught on to their game plan after that score and stopped the Leopards speed from hurting them. The G-Men’s defense locked it up for the remainder of the game to take home the prize of closing the regular season off with a win. 

Looking ahead into the playoffs, Liberty is not done yet as they are expected to settle into the 16th seed and possibly collide with South Range in the opening round. Garfield is expected to settle into the 8th seed and host Conneaut.

YSN will have both playoff games available along with many others with the Playoff Power Pass on October 28th.

*Contributed By YSN’s Brendan Miller

BENSON TO BE A TERRAPIN

LOUISVILLE OH- If you watched Louisville softball over the last two seasons you would quickly discover that there’s something special on their roster. Matti Benson made her name known as one of the best softball players in the area, and in Louisville’s program history. After an impressive 2022 spring, and a productive summer in travel ball, Benson has found a future home at the next level.  Benson will be heading to the Big Ten to be a Maryland Terrapin.  Benson was highly recruited this off-season being seen on college visits at tons of power five programs.  In the end it was Maryland that made the biggest impact, and that’s where she will continue her athletic and academic career.  Benson was ranked 27th in the class of 2024 by Extra Innings Softball.