Tag Archive for: Red Dragons

SOUTH RANGE PUTS DOWN THE DRAGONS

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CANFIELD OH- South Range got a much needed win inside the NE8 on Thursday as they took down the Niles Red Dragons at home in a sweep.  (25-12 25-22 25-12)

Olivia Meli led the Raiders offense with 9 kills.  She also put some stats up in every category with 4 digs, 2 blocks, and 2 aces.  Maria Primavera was right behind her with 8 kills, and also 8 digs.  Sarah Kuhns set up 19 assists.  Gianna Pasquale led the back row with 14 digs.

South Range returns to action on Monday as they travel to Boardman to take on the Spartans.  Niles is also back in action Monday taking on Champion.

BLUE JAYS STORM THE GATES AGAINST NILES

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NILES OH- Jackson Milton took down the Niles McKinley in a non-conference game Monday night. The Jays got the win in four sets. (25-9 17-25 25-21 25-16)

The Lady Jays were lead by a strong serving performance of Mia Greco with 22 service points and 4 aces, Grace Johns with 16 service points and 7 aces.  Mia added in 9 kills to her stat line.  Riley Headley had 7 kills tonight from her outside hitter position.  Grace Johns chipped in 19 digs in another great defensive role.  Paige Grope added 13 assists.  Alena Len had the Lady Jays only block of the night.

*Contributed By Stephen Mohr at jacksonmiltonathletics.org

DRAGONS FEELING GOOD AFTER MID-WEEK WIN

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- Both teams were in need of a bounce back but only one could get the victory. That one would be the Lady Niles Red Dragons who won 3-0 sets against the Lady Bears of Youngstown East (25-10, 25-17 and 25-19).

Freshman Emily Marino finished the game with four aces. Alaina Thigpen finished the game with three aces, two blocks and four digs as well as assisted on the kills six times. Senior Abbey Reed also played a big impact in the game with two blocks and three aces. Freshman Caroline Cormell had two digs and a couple kills in which she assisted on one. Others who played big in the game were Mia Keeley with two aces and Lily Coupland with an ace.

East tried to come back in the second set scoring six unanswered points from players Zorian Rivera and Latena Savage. Unfortunately, it was a little too late as the Lady Red Dragons moved to two and three on the season while the Lady Golden Bears fell again.

Niles (2-3) will host the Lady Indians of Girard (5-1, 4-1 in NE8 conference) Thursday September 8th. East will play steel valley rival Chaney Cowgirls who are also looking for their first win the same day.

After the game, YSNs Ian O’Brien caught up with coach Taylor Pegg about the big win and what to expect against the Indians.

*contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

NILES CANT KEEP UP IN HIGH SCORING AFFAIR

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NILES OH- Last season Niles came away with a 19-16 defensive victory.  This year the tide turned as a big scoring offense in the first half turned into a one sided second half match.  The biggest story in this game was how would Niles’ run game be as Antuan Gardner was out with an injury and taking his place would be Joe Smith.  Same with the offensive and defensive line without Matt Keeley. 

 

A week ago, the Red Dragons of Niles got a big rivalry victory against Howland 21 to 7, while Alliance needed a rebound after a tough 41 to 14 loss against Lake. 

 

Alliance started out the game strong with just a few plays as Brendan Zurbrugg connected with Ramir Hawkins on a big play.  Few plays later, Kayden Davis got the first score on the board making it 7-0.  Niles would strike right back however as Anthony Budak hooked up with Keyshon Talley for a 75-yard touchdown tying it at seven.  The Aviators would get back on the board once again however as Davis went 44-yards to pay dirt. going up 14-7 and then another run this time from 58-yards out making it 21-7. Joe Smith also had two touchdowns, one from 50 and four yards out.  

 

However, the momentum changed as Budak was rolling out, he was picked off by Carter Bugara who took it all the way back for a pick six. After that, Alliance never looked back as the Aviators had two more touchdowns by Davis, and a touchdown reception from Tyion Matthew’s who went 39-yards out from Zurbrugg.  Ex’Ziriaun Williamson got reps of running back later on and scored a 53-yard touchdown too as Alliance got their first win against an old fashioned rival in Niles McKinley for the first time since 2004.  

 

Brendan Zurbrugg finished with 161 yards passing and two touchdowns.  Kayden Davis finished with 13 carris for 185 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. 

 

For Niles, Joe Smith rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns.  

 

Next week, Niles (1-1) will host the LaBrae Vikings (0-2) who are coming off of a 40 to 12 loss against Valley Christian.  Alliance (1-1) will host Bedford (0-2).  

 

 After the game, YSNs Ian O’Brien caught up with coach Tim Goodman about the big win and what to expect next week. 

 

*contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

RAIDERS STORM THE GATES IN NILES

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NILES OH: Both teams got big victories recently, but only one can get the momentum rolling early in the Northeastern 8 side. The Lady Red Dragons had a step, but couldn’t control the fast pace offense of the Lady Raiders of south range who came away with the 3-1 victory (SR 25-17) (Niles 25-23) (SR 25-11, 25-11).  

 

Adding on some of the big points in the game were Jamie Feren, a couple aces from Sarah Kuhs, Olivia Meli the junior and Maria Primavera.  Niles came back to win the second series after a blown lead by the Raiders but it was not enough as South Range came right back sweeping them the next two serie and moving to three and one on the series, while Niles moved to one and one.  

 

After the game YSNs Ian O’Brien caught up with the winning coach Todd Irons.  The Raiders next game is Thursday the 25th against Struthers, a home conference rivalry matchup.  

 

*contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

Postgame Interview With TJ Irons:

 

RED DRAGONS TAME TIGERS

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HOWLAND, OH – A Week 1 rivalry always brings out the best in teams, and the Niles Red Dragons proved that on the road against bitter archrival Howland. They used a well-balanced spread attack en route to a 21-7 victory in some Thursday night action.

 

After both teams started with a three-and-out, Niles put in a nice, methodical drive, thanks to the elusive running of star junior Antuan Gardner. With 7:28 to go in the first, the Red Dragons in a goal-line situation, Gardner took the ball into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown. Keyshon Talley then hit the extra point to make it a 7-0 ball game. Gardner finished the night with 95 yards on 24 carries, for a 4.0 average.

 

The Niles hard-hitting defense made it really tough for Howland to find a rhythm on offense. They held the Tigers to 206 yards of total offense (177 passing, 29 rushing), all while only giving up 5 first downs on the night. Howland had some good potential with some long strikes from quarterback John Perry, but the Tigers were doomed by four game-changing turnovers; two fumbles in the first half and two interceptions in the second half. Perry finished the night 7/21 with 177 yards and 2 picks.

 

Another successful drive was then produced by Niles in the second quarter, who would finish with 324 yards of total offense (202 passing, 122 rushing). Another key component of the offense was quarterback Anthony Budak, an Olmsted Falls transfer. He was an impressive 19/26 for 202 yards and a touchdown. He put Niles ahead even further with a 6-yard QB draw for paydirt. Another successful Talley extra point made it a 14-0 game heading into intermission. 

 

Howland then had their best drive of the game at the start of the second half. It only took them three plays to score when on a 3rd & 22, Perry hurled a deep ball, which was then hauled in by Nicholas Leasure, who then sprinted down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. Jack Litton then hit the extra point to bring it to within 14-7. 

 

The Tigers defense then made an important goal line stand when they clogged up Antuan Gardner at the goal line, holding him just short of the endzone. This was as close as the Tigers would get, however, as the offense stalled on another three-and-out and gave Niles great field possession as a result. This Niles drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Budak to Kristopher Hrosar, who converted from quarterback to wide receiver. The Red Dragons, aided by the two second-half interceptions, then ran the clock out and celebrated their hard-fought victory over their bitter rivals. 

 

Coach Jim Parry and the Red Dragons improve to 1-0 with the opening night victory. This victory is their first over the Tigers since 2019. Niles will now get ready for another tough opponent in Alliance in their home opener next Friday night down at Bo Rein Stadium. They defeated the Aviators last year in a thriller 19-16 down in Alliance. 

 

Coach Steve Boyle and the Howland Tigers will drop to 0-1 with the loss. They will now have to travel out to Ravenna next Friday night to take on the Ravens. Howland lost a close game at home last year to the Ravens 20-13.

*Contributed By YSN’s Noah Ricks

NILES FALLS SHORT IN TITLE GAME

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STRUTHERS OH-  Niles came in to Wednesdays district championship riding high after their win over top seeded Canfield. However, they couldn’t ride that momentum to victory, as Chardon spoiled the party winning the championship 10-0.

Chardon fired up the offense in the first inning. Heath Fetchik’s sac fly scored one run.

Chardon scored four runs in the fourth inning. Their offense in the inning was led by Jake Barker, Stone Fawcett, and Leo Colombi, who each had RBIs in the inning.

A single by Michael Guarnieri in the first inning was a positive for Niles. They struggled to get the offense going totaling in just 4 hits on the day.

Kirsh earned the win for Chardon. Kirsh allowed four hits and zero runs over six innings, striking out seven.

Sam Perrone took the loss for Niles. The pitcher surrendered two runs on two hits over one inning, walking zero.

The Hilltoppers racked up 12 hits. Barker, Fawcett, Kyle Maronde, and Christian Hall all managed multiple hits. Fawcett and Barker each collected three hits to lead.

*Powered By Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved. 

RAIDERS WIN TWO OVER NILES

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CANFIELD OH- In a make up situation between Niles and South Range, the two teams played a pair of five inning games on Tuesday to settle their season series. South Range won game 1 19-1, and then took game 2 12-0.

GAME 1:

South Range won big over Niles 19-1 on Tuesday.

South Range got things moving in the first inning, when Jamie Feren tripled on a 0-2 count, scoring one run.

The Raiders tallied nine runs in the second inning. Feren, Kelly Szolek, Reagan Irons, Hannah Ball, Giada Pauline, and Riley DeCiancio powered the big inning with RBIs.

Juli Stachowicz earned the win for South Range. The southpaw surrendered zero runs on zero hits over three innings, striking out seven and walking zero. Irons threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.

South Range Raiders Varsity smacked two home runs on the day. Samantha Susany had a four bagger in the first inning. Stachowicz also had a long ball in the first inning.

The Raiders racked up 16 hits on the day. Szolek, Madison Dado, Irons, and Stachowicz all had multiple hits. Stachowicz, Irons, Dado, and Szolek each collected two hits to lead.

GAME 2:

South Range won 12-0 in game 2 as the teams finished after 3 innings.

Samantha Susany, and Reagan Irons both had 2 hits for the Raiders in game 2. Irons had a pair of RBI. Susany had one as well.

Susany struck out 5 in two innings pitched. She gave up 0 runs on 0 hits. Irons pitched an inning in relief.

*Powered By Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved. 

GUARNIERI GETS 200TH WIN AS DRAGONS TAKE CARE OF GIRARD

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NILES OH- Just a couple days into the baseball season, and we already have a major milestone reached. Nile’s head coach Mike Guarnieri is a legend in the Dragon baseball program. He’s put in the work, and now he has reached win number 200 in his career as the Dragons beat Girard 14-2 on Thursday night.

Leading the Niles offense was Kolton Christopher who went 3-5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Zack Macik also had a great day at the plate going 4-5 with a RBI.

Andrew Huffman pitched 4 innings for the Dragons and gave up 0 runs on 2 hits and struck out 3.

Girard’s offense struggled to get things rolling. Evan award went 1-2 with a run scored. Kaison Lipka also went 1-2.

NILES BASEBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH MICHAEL GUARNIERI

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NILES OH- What is the one thing every ball player wants? Consistency. Whether that be from your plate appearances, to the umpires and especially from the coaching.  For Niles and The Red Dragons, they have been a model of what program consistency looks like in the area.  With over 25+ years of experience as The Head Coach of The Red Dragons, Michael Guarnieri will return for another season.

Excited about the upcoming season, Ty Bartell talks with Coach Guarnieri  about the competition Niles will face in the conference this year. Add some tough non-conference games and The Red Dragons will have their work cut out for them.

As Coach Guarnieri carves through the 2022 season, he reflects on the past 25 seasons before, what he has learned and what keeps on bringing him back. You do not want to miss this episode of Coaches Corner as we talk to the man who has inspired countless other coaches in Northeastern Ohio.

The man, the myth, the legend himself. Niles Red Dragons Head Coach Michael Guarnieri.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

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