The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Warriors wearing out foes
Fairview basketball has reemerged as a contender in the Patriot Athletic Conference over the past couple seasons and has even become a dark horse in Division II come tournament time, but the team isn’t waiting until February to make a splash this season.
The Warriors are off to a 5-1 start, blemished only by a twopoint loss, 72-70, to PAC power Buckeye on Dec. 11, and have recently broken several school records, some set over 50 years ago.
On Dec. 18, Fairview traveled to Brookside and beat up on the Cardinals, 111-46, in what was the highest-scoring game by a Fairview team since the 1952-53 team scored 102 on Oberlin.
It was just the first of a pair of records broken that game, however, when the team’s 47 field goals broke the previous record (46) set by the 1982-83 team against rival Lutheran West.
The Warriors, apparently not satisfied with their offensive output that game, came back Dec. 21 and scored 112 points against Brooklyn to break the record set three days prior.
Fairview is being led by standout guard Luke Howes, who made an immediate impact when he arrived on the scene as a freshman two seasons ago. The 6-foot-2 junior is averaging 24.8 points per game through six games this season, second in the area only to Lorain’s All-Ohio point guard Devon Grant (29.2 ppg), and has had three games with 30-plus points.
Howes scored 30 in the loss to Buckeye, 31 in the win over Brooklyn and earned his own place in the Fairview record books when he scored 42 points at Columbia. The 42 points tied him for fourth in single-game scoring and his six 3-pointers that game tied him for third in program history.
“When he gets hot, it’s crazy,” Fairview coach Ryan Barry said of Howes after the Columbia game. “He’s a big-time player, and no one knows about him because we’re in the PAC. We’re a small school, and we don’t normally win a lot of games. We won last year, and people are starting to take notice.”
Last season, in Barry’s first year as head coach, Fairview set the school record for wins when the team finished 20-4, breaking the previous record of 19 wins set in the 1956-57 season, and, as the sixth seed, the Warriors advanced to a district semifinal before losing to eventual regional finalist Bay.
This year, the Warriors are looking to compete for their first conference championship since 1961-62, and with steady improvement over the last several years, Barry has got his team poised to challenge three-time defending PAC Stripes Division champion Clearview.
Fairview is off until the new year when it returns to action Jan. 2 to face Elyria Catholic at Quicken Loans Arena.
Watch list: Avon Lake 3-3, Columbia 3-2, Keystone 6-2, Midview 4-2, Wellington 5-2
Crop comments: Lorain beat Shaw this week and remains undefeated on the season. The Titans have a pair of big nonconference games coming up in the annual Lorain County Holiday Classic with Elyria up first . ... Vermilion went 2-0 this week with wins over Oak Harbor and Bellevue to remain atop the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Sailors are competing in this week’s Lorain County Holiday Classic with the likes of No. 1 Lorain and Elyria. ... Bay moves up one spot thanks to a nonconference win over Westlake. The Rockets have a showdown with Rocky River looming on the schedule . ... Elyria beat Strongsville to move up two spots this week and will have arguably its toughest test when it faces No. 1 Lorain in the first round of the Lorain County Holiday Classic, with the possibility of No. 2 Vermilion waiting in the wings . ... Olmsted Falls picked up two wins including one over Avon to remain in the top five this week . ... Rocky River is the biggest surprise of the season thus far and dominated Elyria Catholic to move up one spot this week . ... Elyria Catholic makes the biggest drop this week to No. 7 after three straight losses. The Panthers have a tough slate over the holiday break and can reenter the top five with a few wins . ... Clearview beat Oberlin to remain undefeated on the season. The Clippers can prove if they belong in the top five when the schedule heats up after the holiday break. ... Fairview stays put after beating Brooklyn this week. The Warriors dropped 112 points but strength of schedule keeps them at No. 9 . ... Avon rounds out the list despite a loss to Olmsted Falls and the Eagles are still very much in play for the Southwestern Conference title.
Note: Records as of Dec. 26.
“He’s a big-time player, and no one knows about him because we’re in the PAC. We’re a small school, and we don’t normally win a lot of games. We won last year, and people are starting to take notice.”
Fairview coach Ryan Barry, on Luke Howes