The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Keystone state title leads stories of year
Wildcats softball team captures fifth crown; Lorain County final four teams make headlines
After a year dominated by cancellations, postponements and disappointment due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, area high school sports teams bounced back in a big way in 2021.
This year brought state championships to those who had opportunities taken away from them in 2020, and plenty of firsts for teams across the area. Two individuals and one team who did not participate in 2020’s spring sports season due to its cancellation earned state titles and plenty of others made deep tournament runs.
Below are the top high school sports stories of 2021:
1
KEYSTONE SOFTBALL TEAM WINS FIFTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
After a 2020 to forget, the Keystone softball team had the ultimate year to remember in 2021. The Wildcats became the first team in the history of Ohio to win 1,000 games and capped off their season with their fifth state championship.
Keystone defeated Wooster Triway in a thrilling Division II state championship game, 7-3.
A five-run seventh inning was enough to propel the ‘Cats to the state championship. Senior Kerrigan Williams’ bunt proved the game-winning hit, scoring Morgan Modock.
Williams was a hero in the field as well, saving a run in the third inning and making another stellar defensive play in the bottom of the sixth.
Following the win, Keystone’s 2021 squad celebrated with players from its 2020 team that had their season so unceremoniously canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“It can’t get any better than that. I told the girls we needed to take set one. We wanted to steal set one and we did just that. We didn’t steal it, we earned it. And then to get set two as well that takes away so much pressure on kids who have never been here before.” — Amherst coach Felicia Sanchez, on beating Saint Joseph Academy to earn a state final four berth
“If you saw the 2020 seniors out there getting their pictures taken with them and bawling their eyes out, that says it all,” Wildcats’ head coach Jim Piazza said. “We talked about it and said we have to do this for them. There were seven great seniors that were leaders on that team and showed these guys how to lead.”
Piazza later left the Keystone program to become the new athletic director at Elyria Catholic. Longtime assistant Doug Cooper was named Piazza’s successor and will look to lead a ‘Cats team that returns a lot of talent to another state title run.
2 AVON FOOTBALL TEAM
MAKES FIFTH STRAIGHT
FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE
To the surprise of almost nobody who has followed the Avon football program over the last halfdecade, the Eagles again made a state tournament run in 2021.
Avon, led by some super underclassmen on offense, made its fifth straight final four appearance in 2021. Junior quarterback Sam DeTillio and sophomore running back Jakorion Caffey carried the Eagles’ offense for much of the year and did so throughout the playoffs as well.
DeTillio led the Eagles to an overtime win over Toledo Central Catholic in one of the best games of the year.
The Eagles beat the Irish in overtime, 43-42, using a trick play on a two-point conversion. DeTillio handed the ball to Caffey, who handed it to Ethan Holbrook on the end around to send Avon to the final four.
“If you want to know the truth, today I was sitting at my computer and I knew how tough it would be to run the ball downhill. I obsessed about it and I put that thing in at about three ‘o’clock today,” Elder said. “We run that play but it’s not a goal-line play. But I thought it would be a good one down there based on how they play defense in that area.”
3 VERMILION BASEBALL TEAM MAKES FINAL
FOUR RUN
The Vermilion baseball team had its best season in school history in 2021.
Two years after losing a 2019 regional final, the Sailors finally got over the hump, defeating rival Firelands to earn a final four spot. Vermilion led the Falcons 14-3 in the fifth inning before Firelands made its best attempt at a comeback, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the frame.
Vermilion held on, earning longtime coach Jeff Keck a regional championship.
“It’s a phenomenal feeling,” said Keck, who two years ago watched his team lose the same game. “This year we were able to take another step and hopefully we can keep it going.”
The Sailors lost to eventual state champion Archbishop Hoban in a state semifinal.
4 AMHERST VOLLEYBALL TEAM EARNS FINAL
FOUR BERTH
Nearly 30 years to the day it last earned a state final four berth, the Amherst volleyball team did it again.
The Comets stunned Saint Joseph Academy in four sets, punching their ticket to their first state tournament since 1991. Led by 2021 Morning Journal Player of the Year Laken Voss, Amherst dominated the Jaguars in the opening two sets and held on to win.
“It can’t get any better than that,” Amherst coach Felicia Sanchez said. “I told the girls we needed to take set one. We wanted to steal set one and we did just that. We didn’t steal it, we earned it. And then to get set two as well that takes away so much pressure on kids who have never been here before.”
Amherst lost to eventual state runner-up Olentangy Orange in straight sets.
5 AREA FOOTBALL TEAMS
MAKE HISTORY
For the first time in school history, the Columbia football team won a pair of playoff games.
The Raiders capped off a nine-win regular season with a pair of playoff wins over Lorain County League foes Wellington and Black River. Led by a dynamic offensive trio featuring quarterback Andrew Champagne, running back Marco Cirigliano and receiver Owen Menge, Columbia had its best season in school history.
Columbia won 11 games and finished the regular season ranked as one of the top 10 teams in D-VI in all of Ohio. Head coach Jason Ward was also named Morning Journal Coach of the Year.
The Raiders weren’t the only area team to make history. Rocky River also won two playoff games in a season for the first time in school history.
The Pirates beat Great Lakes Conference opponent Buckeye and Toledo Rogers before falling victim to the eventual regional champion from West Holmes. Rocky River also added a conference title to its resume, winning
the first-ever GLC championship game in Week 10 of the regular season over Buckeye.
Senior running back and linebacker Tommy Bebie was also named the 2021 winner of the Matt Wilhelm Award, given to the best player in the Morning Journal’s coverage area. Bebie ran for nearly 2,000 yards and 20-plus scores. He also was one of the area’s leading tacklers.
Elyria Catholic also had a season to remember, making it to its first regional championship since 1987.
6 LORAIN FOOTBALL TEAM
RETURNS TO THE FIELD
AFTER YEAR-LONG HIATUS
After a season without football at Lorain High School, the Titans returned to the field in 2021.
Led by new head coach Damion Creel, the Titans navigated through an unprecedented season that saw them return one varsity letter winner — lineman Jacob Addis. Creel and company did an admirable job, winning their final game of the regular season and earning a spot in the Division I, Region 1 playoffs as a result of new OHSAA rules that put 16 teams in the playoffs.
Lorain lost to No. 1 overall seed and eventual state champion St. Edward in the opening round of the playoffs. But the experience gained by a young team will do wonders for Creel as he looks to rebuild the Titans program.
7 KEYSTONE BOYS GOLF TEAM MAKES FIRST STATE TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE
With its third-place finish at the Division II district tournament at Windmill Lakes Golf Course, the Keystone golf team earned its first state tournament berth.
Led by senior twins Ian and Jake Morgan, the Wildcats finished nine strokes behind second-place finisher Triway. The Morgan’s carded a 77 and 80 respectively, helping their father, head coach Greg Morgan, reach the state tournament for the first time.
“Super exciting,” Coach Morgan said, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ve coached baseball, track, basketball… never got to state or regionals. Just to get out of here and to state is awesome.”
At the state tournament, Keystone placed two golfers in the top 35, with Jake Morgan finishing in a tie for 22nd with a two-day total of 164. His brother, Ian, finished 31st with a 166 and Senghas carded a 185.
8 OLMSTED FALLS, WESTLAKE CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS FINISH SECOND AND THIRD AT D-I STATE
MEET
After spending much of the 2021 cross country season racing neck and neck against each other, Olmsted Falls’ Katie Clute and Westlake’s Sarah Peer put up stellar performances at the state meet.
Clute and Peer finished second and third respectively, capping off outstanding
seasons with one last race.
“I tend to get out well and position myself well with the top girls,” said Peer. “It was a hard first mile to keep up with Alyssa and Katie with them setting very fast paces. Throughout the races I’ve run this season with Katie, it’s been nice having her because we’ve developed this relationship running together and knowing that we respect each other and push each other for results like today.”
Also earning All-Ohio honors at the state meet were Columbia’s Madeleine Finton, who finished sixth in D-III and Rocky River’s Samantha Coleman who finished 15th and helped the Pirates secure a sixthplace finish overall.
9 RYNE SHACKELFORD WIN
AVON’S MOLLY RADCLIFFE,
KEYSTONE’S
TRACK AND FIELD STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Avon thrower Molly Radcliffe was determined to win a pair of state championships in 2021. Radcliffe was ranked as the state’s top thrower in both discus and shot put and cemented that ranking with two state championships.
“It was weird not having the massive cage to throw in, but at the same time, it was kind of nice,” Radcliffe said. “Because it’s the ring you’re more used to throwing. So overall, it was a really nice place, and I’m happy we at least got to have a season. “Not having last year, I think it’s just driven this year for me.”
Radcliffe wasn’t the only area athlete to take home a state title at the state’s track and field championships. Keystone’s Ryne Shackelford won the D-II long jump title with a jump of 23 feet, ½ inches.
Shackelford, who also stars on Keystone’s football team, had a chance to compete for a 100-yard dash state title and finished fourth.
10 OLMSTED FALLS GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM
MAKES ELITE 8 RUN
What the Olmsted Falls girls basketball team has done over the past three seasons is beyond impressive.
The Bulldogs are threetime Southwestern Conference champions and in 2021, they made a run to the Division I, Elite 8. Led by an outstanding mix of seniors and underclassmen, the Bulldogs won their first district title since 2017.
“They’ve really gone above and beyond to make sure that this stays a group and not a few groups,” head coach Jordan Eaton said. “When you’ve got a team full of 15 kids it’s really easy to see three or four groups of kids in that 15. But when we’re in practice and when we have any kind of team event, it always ends up being 15 girls and that really stems from the senior leadership and I’m really proud of them for that.”
Falls fell to Notre Dame Academy in their regional final, but look poised to make another run this year.