TIGERS TAKEN OUT BY NORWAYNE

TWINSBURG OH–

A snap, a double reverse, and an on the money strike last November propelled the Springfield Tigers football team over Norwayne in the closing seconds of their regional final matchup.

Fast forward just a little over 4 months and these two schools were back at it again, just in a different sport. The highest seeded teams out of the Northeast 1 and Northeast 3 districts traveled to Twinsburg for the chance at a Regional championship.

Norwayne (23-4) came into the night as winners in 11 of their last 12 matchups. The Bobcats secured their rematch with Springfield winning in overtime against Waynedale to secure their second straight district title. For the Springfield Tigers (18-5), it was a 10-point victory over Pymatuning Valley, securing their first district title since 2019 that led them into the night.

Taking over 2 and a half minutes to finally get on the board, the scoring started slow for both teams. The first quarter saw the lead change 6 different times before Springfield would take a firm hold ofthe quarter. After junior guard, Adam Wharry,stepped in front of a driving Norwayne player to take a charge, the Tigers would go on an 8-1 run to end the quarter.

Despite their poor end to the first, Norwayne came out inspired to start the second. A 6-0 run to begin the quarter had the Bobcats within 1. Following a steal and an easy layup for Springfield’s Wharry to end Norwayne’s run, the two teams would exchange a pair of three pointersas well as a couple of free throws to knot the game up at 23 all heading into the locker room.

The third quarter saw the most production offensively from both teams, combining for 35total points. Like two heavyweights in the middle of the ring, Springfield and Norwayne would exchange leads 8 times in the final 4 minutes of the third. The two teams hit a total of 7 three pointers for the quarter.

With a 3-point lead heading into the final quarter of play, all the Bobcats needed to do was hold on, but Springfield wouldn’t go away easily. Although they would tie the game at 44 with just 4 minutes and 15 seconds remaining, the Tigers would never take the lead back in the final quarter. A mix of going cold from beyond the arc and Norwayne’s size showing up in the post would bring the Tigers season to an end, losing 55-49.

LEADING SCORERS:

Springfield

Clay Medvec – 17 points

Beau Brungard – 12 points

Adam Wharry – 12 points

Norwayne

Joey Raudebaugh – 14 points

Jacob Rupp – 11 points

Ameer Cunningham – 10 points

UP NEXT:

The road doesn’t get any easier from here on out for the Bobcats. Norwayne must now face Lutheran East (13-3). Ranked 15th in the state and 2nd in Division 3, the Lutheran East Falcons boast wins over St. Ignatius and Solon, with close loses to the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the state, St. Vincent-St. Mary and St. Edward. The Falcons are led by the 5th ranked player in the Ohio Class of 2021, Jalin Billingsley, a Georgetown commit.

*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson