The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
COLLEGE SEASON WAS HISTORIC, MEMORABLE
The 2016-17 school year featured upsets, championships, retirements and more
It began innocently enough for yours truly in late July 2016 at Mentor’s Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
It ended last week when Louisville starter Kade McClure of Mentor pitched six pretty good innings in a loss at the College World Series.
In between was almost 12 months of memorable storylines, games, players and coaches.
The biggest was the emergence of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who rose from first-year starter for the Tar Heels in September to seven months later being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Trubisky, his former college teammate Brandon Fritts — both Mentor grads — and I met at the JTO in late July 2016 to talk about the upcoming season for a story.
The excitement level in both, especially Trubisky, was as clear as the bright blue sky on a hot summer morning.
Midway through our conversation, Trubisky talked about how he dreamed of the NFL, but was focused on the Tar Heels’ 2016 season.
Talk about a moment of foreshadowing.
It wasn’t just Trubisky. There was so much more.
Let’s review some of the notable stories involving area players, teams and coaches:
• Trubisky’s rise as firstyear starter in Chapel Hill, N.C., to the No. 2 overall pick of the Chicago Bears was storybook. In a matter of months, he was a national unknown, then the subject of national stories leading up to the draft. It will likely be a long time until the area watches another story unfold such as Trubisky’s.
• The John Carroll football lost its first game of the season, then won 12 straight to advance to the Division III NCAA semifinals. Along the way, the Blue Streaks — stocked with area players such as All-America linebacker Mason McKenrick (Mentor), transfer running back Sam Kukura (Kirtland) and standout left tackle Dom DiTiro (Lake Catholic), plus many others — stunned Mount Union, 31-28, on a touchdown in the last minute to win the Ohio Athletic Conference title.
• Following that memorable season, Coach Tom Arth left for FCS Chattanooga. Taking his place was former St. Edward coach, Michigan assistant and Euclid native Rick Finotti.
• Kareem Hunt left Toledo as the school’s alltime leading rusher, then was drafted in Round 3 by
the Chiefs.
• At Lake Erie College, Coach Mark McNellie stepped down midway through the season. The team found his successor in Jeff Horrocks, but he resigned a few weeks later in a cloud of controversy. Longtime assistant Jerry Hazzard was elevated to head coach.
• Much smoother news out of LEC was the improbable rise of long snapper Anthony Kukwa. The Perry graduate went undrafted but his skills as a snapper earned him a three-year contract with the Oakland Raiders.
• Another notable area stories on the gridiron included Notre Dame College running back D.J. Greene (Willoughby
South) with a second straight 1,000-yard season, Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker (Benedictine) stepping up as a starter during the Buckeyes’ run to the College Football Playoff, and Case Western Reserve flirting with a 10-0 season.
• As the winter approached, it was revealed longtime John Carroll men’s basketball coach Mike Moran would retire after 25 years at the school. He was later replaced by his son, Pete. After that, Pat Moran, Pete’s brother, left Madison to join the JCU staff.
• Northwestern provided the feel-good story of men’s basketball season as the Wildcats made the NCAA tournament for
the first time in school history. Forward Dererk Pardon (VASJ) helped Northwestern get there, and his memorable shot to beat Michigan was one of the top plays of the regular season.
• Another VASJ grad Carlton Bragg transferred from Kansas to Arizona State amid controversy. He was suspended, and reinstated, twice by the Jayhawks in 2016-17.
• Two area wrestlers made the NCAA D-I tournament in Edinboro’s Billy Miller (Perry) and Kent State’s Anthony Tutolo (Kent State).
• Katlyn Spahar (Lake Catholic) left as JCU’s No. 2 career leading scorer in women’s basketball, behind her sister Missy.
• University of Akron pole vaulter Matt Ludwig (Lake Catholic) won the NCAA pole vault national championship in Eugene, Ore.
• And finally, McClure — drafted by the White Sox in Round 6 — helped lead Louisville to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Area college fans should feel fortunate. The athletes that have come through these parts lately have been exceptional, and 2016-17 was proof of that.
Topping the stories and success from the last 12 months won’t be easy.