Windham football seeks redemption in new season
Just about everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Windham Bombers’ football team last season. With a new season on the horizon, the Bombers will try and right the ship in search of their first winning season since 2018. “We are excited about the season,” Coach Jake Eye told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 6. “We have...
Rockets football returns with experience and unfinished business
Becoming only the second team in school history to reach double-digit victories last season was a nice achievement for the Streetsboro Rockets’ football team but Coach Pete Thompson said his squad still has some unfinished business. “It is an experienced bunch so our expectations are high for them but they are still kids and we have to see,” Thompson told...
Garfield football ready to usher in new era amid new season
What does a high school football program do after graduating one of its winningest senior classes in school history? According to coach Mike Moser, they carry on and try to write a new chapter, which is what the Garfield G-Men plan to do for the upcoming season. “What we did last year on the field does not really impact on...
Ravenna football ready to soar into new season
Ravenna Ravens’ football head coach Brian Coman won’t predict what his team’s record will be this season but one thing he is hopeful about is that his team will bring that competitive edge into every game. “I think some good things are going to happen,” the first-year coach told The Weekly Villager. “We are learning new concepts and the kids...
Eric Hedge steps in to lead Ravenna boys soccer team
For Eric Hedge, being a head soccer coach has always depended on the timing of the situation. For a long time, the timing has not been quite right but it is now as Hedge assumes the role of the Ravenna Ravens boys’ soccer coach. “I am super excited,” Hedge told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 5. “It means I get...
Crestwood football takes on Rootstown for annual alumni game
No matter how many years have gone by, the tradition of high school football has remained strong in the Mantua community as evidenced by the annual Crestwood alumni football games before the start of each season. The Red Devils’ alumni team will hit the road and take on Portage County rival Rootstown at Robert C. Dunn Field on Saturday...
Cardinal football brings Rich Turner aboard as new head coach
Football coach Rich Turner is familiar with elevating an Ohio high school football program to the next level. He will attempt to do that again as the new Cardinal Huskies’ head football coach. “It is home,” Turner told The Weekly Villager on July 25. “One of the big things you miss is that schools open up and close so fast...
Southeast graduate Jenna Fesemyer makes the cut for USA Paralympic Team
Representing the United States once at the Olympic Games was a blessing for Southeast alum Jenna Fesemyer. She will get a second chance to again perform on the national stage, having been named to the USA Paralympic Team for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “I am thrilled to be representing Team USA at the Paralympic Games,” Fesemyer told The Weekly...
Streetsboro assistant football Pete Smith also scribes with success
Streetsboro Rockets’ assistant football Coach Pete Smith may not have played football during his high school days but was always fascinated by the X’s and O’s of the game. In addition to becoming an integral part of Streetsboro’s coaching staff, he has carried his passion for football over to the writing about the sport for the widely-acclaimed The Orange...
Mike Shiels ready to steer Hiram women’s soccer amid transition period
After 21 years at the helm of Notre Dame College’s women’s soccer program, Coach Mike Shiels is starting over. Although he is leaving a program where he set down many roots, the new Hiram College women’s soccer coach is bringing an energetic mindset to his new position. “Obviously when you are somewhere so long, things become easy for you and...
Windham grad Chad Kiser joins the 300-coaching victory club with LaBrae
LaBrae boys’ basketball Coach Chad Kiser knows firsthand what it feels like to be a part of a small program but still get the job done. He now joins an elite club of high school coaches, having reached his 300th career coaching victory this past season when the Vikings defeated Hubbard on Jan. 3. “It is a prestigious club,” Kiser...
Garfield junior Conner Hunt basks in aftermath of Move United Hartford Nationals
Garfield rising junior Conner Hunt had already proven himself at the state level as a tough competitor in the seated track events but now has made his mark at the national level. Hunt won the 100-meter seated dash at the Move United Hartford Nationals in Alabama by setting a national record of 15.71 seconds and finished as the runner-up...
Former Windham Coach Michael Chaffee ready to howl with Huskies volleyball
Even early in his retirement, former Windham Bombers’ volleyball Coach Michael Chaffee is not content with just taking long walks or playing pickleball. He is a teacher at his core and is eager to get back to his roots, having been announced as Cardinal’s new volleyball coach in April. “It’s very exciting,” Chaffee told The Weekly Villager on July 11....
Connor Hunt wins national title in the seated 100 meter race–sets new national record!
Connor Hunt, a junior at James A. Garfield High School, competed at the Move United Hartford Nationals in Alabama on Sunday, July 14, and not only won the seated 100 meter race, but set a new national record in the process. Official results were not available from The Hartford Nationals at the time of publication.
Hiram athletics preparing to add three new sports for 2025-26 school year
Hiram College’s pending move to the President’s Athletic Conference for the 2025-26 school year will also see significant changes in the its athletic program. The Terriers will be adding three new sports when they join the PAC in women’s lacrosse, women’s bowling and men’s ice hockey. “We are growing at a pretty fast pace,” Athletic Director Scott Pohlman told The...
Jacob McPherson qualifies for Monster EnergyAMA Championship
At the age of 15, sophomore Jacob McPherson is already living life in the fast lane. The Ravenna sophomore will prepare for the biggest motocross race of his life after qualifying for the 43rd annual Monster Energy Amateur National Motocross Championship, which takes place from July 29 through Aug. 3 at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. “It...
Dave Albert brings wealth of experience as new Badger girls basketball coach
Dave Albert has had many opportunities to become a high school basketball coach in his career but has chosen to not accept just any job. He has prioritized looking for the right one and he found his perfect match when he agreed to become the Berkshire Badgers girls’ basketball coach. “I am very excited,” Albert told The Weekly Villager. “With...
McKennah Metzger hurls her way to Coastal Carolina University
Softball or volleyball? That was the choice Aurora graduate McKennah Metzger faced at the end of her freshman year, determining which sport she needed to focus on to take her athletic career to the collegiate level. Her intuition to focus on softball paid off as she will compete at Coastal Carolina University. “They have a great softball program, and it is...
Hopperton brothers reunite at Kent State University
Being on the field at the same time in 2021 was a dream come true for Streetsboro Rockets’ graduates Hunter and Preston Hopperton. They enjoyed it so much that they are giving it another go with Preston having committed to play football at Kent State University and Hunter transferring from the University of Rhode Island. “It is awesome,” Hunter told...
Brian Coman flocks home as new Ravenshead football coach
Coach Brian Coman was unsure if he would ever get a chance to be a head high school football coach despite having been an assistant coach for 26 years. His time has finally come, as he was named Ravenna’s new football coach on June 7. “It means a lot and I am glad that the community, the school board and...
Hiram College graduate Grace Wilson rises to first assistant with Youngstown State volleyball
Hiram College graduate Grace Wilson aspires to become the head coach of a college volleyball program one day and is getting closer to reaching her goal. The 2017 Terriers’ alum is now coaching for a Division I program, having been named as the first assistant coach for Youngstown State University on June 4. “I am definitely really excited,” Wilson told...
Cardinal approved to join Northeastern Athletic Conference next year
The Cardinal Huskies will be giving it everything they have to win as many Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division championships as they can this year. As of June 13, Cardinal was unanimously approved to join the Northeastern Athletic Conference by the principals and athletic directors for the 2025-26 season, making this the final year it will compete in the...
Former Crestwood football Coach Tom Hannan takes the helm at Rootstown
Former Crestwood Red Devils’ football Coach Tom Hannan can recall that during his 16 years with the program as he was always the first one in and the last one to leave football practice. The winningest Red Devils’ football coach in school history is sliding back into old habits, having been appointed as Rootstown’s new football coach. “It is just...
Keegan Sell ready to tackle new chapter at Grand Valley State University
Garfield graduate Keegan Sell’s varsity career in both wrestling and football has been etched into the school record books. He is now hitting the reset button when he continues his football career at Grand Valley State University this fall. “I am super excited,” Sell told The Weekly Villager on June 11. “I am a little bit nervous. It is a...
Longtime Badgers’ Coach Dave List concludes coaching career
Berkshire Badgers’ softball Coach Dave List said the most difficult thing at the spring award ceremony is saying goodbye to the seniors. However the only departure from the program this year was List himself, who retired after 24 years of coaching Berkshire athletics. “It is a lot harder than I thought,” List told The Weekly Villager. “Obviously I am very...
Aurora grad AJ Barner ready to begin NFL journey with Seattle Seahawks
Tight end AJ Barner is no stranger to having to work his way up a depth chart, having done so in his high school and collegiate career. The 2020 Aurora Greenmen graduate will once again work to climb the ladder after being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on April 27. “It has...
Eric Geddes embraces new challenge at Ohio Dominican University
For Garfield graduate Eric Geddes, his four years with the G-Men’s athletic programs went by in the blink of an eye but he treasured every moment. The right-handed pitching ace will continue his athletic career by playing baseball at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. “With baseball I feel like I have a better opportunity to do something in baseball maybe...
Windham’s Briah Daniel Places Sixth In Shot Put
No matter where the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state shot put competition was held, Windham Bombers’ senior Briah Daniel was going to be ready. The Bombers’ senior finished in sixth place with a personal and school record of 39 feet, 8½ inches last Thursday at The University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium. “It’s an incredible feeling,” Daniel said....
TWO-TIME STATE CHAMPION: Streetsboro’s Milena Sobie collects two more state titles in seated events
Streetsboro Rockets’ senior Milena Sobie’s athletic career may have gotten off to a slow start but she has finished things off on a high note. Sobie defended her title in the 800-meter seated dash and 100-meter dash and also placed in two more seated events at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state track meet last week...
THREE-TIME STATE CHAMPION: Connor Hunt adds three more state titles
If Garfield G-Men Connor Hunt did not have a target on his back already, he does now. The G-Men’s sophomore once again reigned supreme by winning three more state titles in the seated events of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state meet last weekend at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium. “For me to go three-for-three means...
