Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Swimming and Diving kicks off their season

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As each year begins, every team is looking to discover who will step up to the plate and take on a team’s crucial leadership roles after a loss of a senior class.
Coach Dan Reese of the swimming and diving team has already seen major contributions from swimmers in each grade.
The girls team has opened their season 2-2, and the boys 3-1. The girls won at Western Reserve Academy and at Nordonia, and they saw losses to Wadsworth and North Canton Hoover. On the other hand, the boys won against Western Reserve Academy, Wadsworth, and Nordonia, along with a hard-fought loss against powerhouse North Canton Hoover at the Bulldogs’ home pool.
The first person to snatch a real leadership position was Isaac Lumley in the season opener against Wadsworth. Lumley left his name on the wall with a record-breaking time in the 100 freestyle of 48.98. He demolished the previous record of 51.41.
Two sophomores have also stepped up early in the season on the boys side. Cory Cremer and Simon Lumley are proving to be aces in Reese’s bag of tricks. Cremer won the 500 freestyle in the first three meets, winning by merely tenths of a second in a race against a North Canton Hoover swimmer with an impressive time of 5:29.89. Cremer’s win in this event was one of the few all night.
Simon Lumley is a big competitor as well, dropping 1:11.87 in the 100 breaststroke in a crucial win against a Western Reserve swimmer, and a win in the 200 individual medley over Wadsworth with a time of 2:20.59.
Alongside these two sophomores is Kevin Houk with a number of wins–most notably in the 100 backstroke against Western Reserve with a time of 1:05.39.
The Lady Bulldogs are seeing big contributions from all grades. Freshman, sophomores and juniors alike have all won events at the first four meets.
Freshman Kayla Engle has been 1:16.25 in her 100 breaststroke which is a time that captured the girls sole win against North Canton Hoover.
Sophomore sprint duo Samantha Huddleston and Amy Vober have also seen their fair share of first place and fast times. Huddleston won two events against Wadsworth: a 59.39 100 freestyle and 26.09 50 freestyle. Vober captured a win in the 50 freestyle against Western Reserve with a time of 27.49.
Junior Lizzie Cole is starting off the year fast with a 1:20.33 100 meter breaststroke against Western Reserve.
The Bulldogs take on league rival Twinsburg at their home pool on Friday night at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12, and they will travel to Bowling Green State University to compete in the Northwest Ohio Classic at 8 a.m on Dec. 19th.
Sports

College Cup to be held in Kansas City

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By Sophia Boris

The Men’s Akron soccer team will be facing eighth-seeded Stanford in the College Cup semifinals this Friday in Kansas City at 8:30 p.m.

This year will mark the 56th annual College Cup. This tournament has been held since 1959, and is conducted by the Collegiate Athletic Association. Since 1959, it has been a 48 team, single elimination tournament.

The Akron Zips will advance after a 3-2 double overtime victory over Creighten University on Saturday.

University of Akron has also participated in the College Cup in 1986, 2009 and has brought home a national championship in 2010.

Stanford beat Wake Forest 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.

This will be Stanford’s fourth time competing in the College Cup and will aim for the college’s first national championship this year.  

The other teams participating in the College Cup semifinals are number two Clemson and number six Syracuse. These teams will kickoff the first NCAA semifinal at 6 p.m.

This will mark 10 years since Clemson has made an appearance in the College Cup. Clemson’s competitor, Syracuse, has never been to the NCAA semifinals.  

The championship game will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday based on the winners of both semifinal games.

         

 

Sports

Bengals prove to be the better NFL team from Ohio

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By Dylan Astor

The Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals faced off in Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Coming into the game, the Browns had named Austin Davis the starting quarterback, due to the injury Josh McCown suffered last week. This game was Davis’s first career start with the Browns, and while Davis looked promising, the rest of the team was a let down.

After the first offensive drive, the Browns knew that they were in for a ride. The Bengals had constant pressure on Davis. They had found a weak spot in the Browns’ offensive line, and it was Cameron Erving.

Erving is a rookie out of  Florida State who was taken nineteenth overall in the 2015 NFL draft. He was originally a backup for the starter, Joel Bitonio, but he left the game early with an injury. The Bengals singled him out and threw their best pass rusher at him, Geno Atkins. Atkins put pressure on Davis almost every single play; however, it was not just Atkins who put pressure on Davis. Many other defensive linemen beat Erving off the block and got to Davis.

Injuries played a key role in Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Two of the Browns’ wide receivers were ruled before the game began, yet to prepare for this, they brought up Darius Jennings from the practice squad to play. They also resigned Terrelle Pryor, who did not see a snap. In the first quarter, wide receiver Travis Benjamin jumped up to catch a ball over his head and was dragged down onto his shoulder. The Brown’s ruled him out of the contest. The two-time pro bowler Joe Haden was inactive again with a concussion. Haden has only played once since week five of the season. With Haden’s absence, the Browns cornerback Charles Gaines was removed off of the injured reserved list,and was starting in place of Haden.

The Bengals offense torched the Browns’ defense. More specifically, it was the matchup of the Bengals wide receiver AJ Green, going up against the Browns cornerback Tramon Williams. During this first quarter, Green was on a streak route to the endzone and ran right by Williams. Luckily for Williams, he dove at the perfect time and tripped up Green. Unfortunately, however, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton scored on a three yard run. Green also had a wide open touchdown against Tramon Williams, going for 23 yards. Green finished the game with five receptions, 128 yards and a touchdown.

It was not only the passing game that torched the Browns, it was also the run game. The Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, had one of his best games of the season against the Browns. He only rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, but this was a bounce back week for Hill. He still has not managed to rush for 100 yards in a single game, but this performance was the closest to it.

Many believe the game was not very entertaining to watch, unless the individual was a Bengals fan. The Browns only managed to put up three points, coming from a field goal by kicker Travis Coons, as time expired before the half. He attempted another field goal later in the game, but the kick was blocked.

The Bengals on the other hand, found it rather easy to score off of the Browns defense. Quarterback Andy Dalton threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Kicker Mike Nugent managed to go three for three on field goals, and running back Jeremy Hill ran for a touchdown.

Here the team is again, with another disappointment; they got pummeled by the Bengals for the second time this year, 37-3. The Browns fell to 2-10, and the Bengals improved to 10-2.

Now many critics speculate if it is the players or the coaching staff to blame.

Front/Home, Sports

Bulldogs strike defeat in final four bout

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It is said that all good things must come to an end, and for the Stow Bulldogs it was a thirteen game winning streak, a push for a state title, and the careers of many seniors, that finally reached that point.

On Nov. 28, the undefeated Stow Bulldogs took on the football powerhouse, top seeded, Lakewood St. Edward Eagles, in the OHSAA Division I final four.

Stow’s perfect record was on the line, and both teams found themselves in a win-or-go-home situation. For the Eagles, they were reaching for another opportunity at a state championship, as they earned it last season as well.

Stow found themselves in a rut early on as the initial kickoff was dropped on the 3-yard line putting Stow in a dangerous situation right out the gate. From there not much was to be done from the offense of the Bulldogs as they were forced to punt nearly every possesion.

The Eagles were the first to score with a 43-yard field goal at the 7:49 mark, followed by a 42-yard touchdown pass to end the first quarter with the lead at 10-0.

The second quarter really opened things up for the Eagles. Numerous turnovers by the Bulldogs were capitalized on by St. Eds, resulting in 38-0  deficit going into halftime.

Junior quarterback Kyle Vantrese was able to find senior wide receiver Monte Board for a 10-yard touchdown pass to give Stow their first, and only points of the night. The Eagles tacked one more touchdown to end the night with a 45-7 victory over Stow.

With more than likely the greatest season of football to come through Stow in history, the Bulldogs surely have nothing to be ashamed of. For some it is the end– a cumulation of all the years spent dedicating their lives to a sport they knew they eventually could no longer play — but for the returning players, this season has set the bar to a new level, one that a legacy of winning seasons is destined to be built upon.