Behind The Box Score

ALL CONTENT IS NOT TRUTH, JUST FAKE, SPORTS HUMOR BASED ON WHAT’S TRUE. ENJOY!

Days after being upset by Northland High School, the Findlay Prep Pilots’ basketball stars were finally sent to class. When asked about the situation, coach Michael Peck responded, “These kids suck, they lost to some public school from Columbus. I told those bums if they lost a game this year they would ACTUALLY have to learn something at this ["academy"].” Read the rest of this entry »

Days removed from his spectacular 46 point outing in a loss against Mifflin, East’s Jerry Dixon returned for Friday’s game against Linden-McKinley expecting to not only play better but lead the Tigers to a victory. Dixon made the highlight reel yet again, this time in a win. Read the rest of this entry »

When you think of high school basketball in the state of Ohio, you have the key points: conference titles, district titles, and wins over your crosstown rivals. But for two teams, they have never had the chance to experience the last of the three mentioned. Today when Grove City (4-1, 2-1) and Central Crossing (0-5, 0-3) step on to the floor, it will be the Read the rest of this entry »

Only 24 hours removed from their upset victory over then #1 Findlay Prep, the Northland Vikings made sure nobody would ruin their moment. Home against traditionally weak Centennial, the Vikings went out and did business as usual waxing the Stars up and down the floor for 95 points and letting the defense thrive, allowing 49. Read the rest of this entry »

When it all matters most, the Northland Vikings know exactly who to go to. Case in point, last March. Tied in the Ohio State Championship Game, Jared Sullinger was fouled with a second remaining against Cincinnati Princeton. Calm and collected at the line, Ohio’s Mr. Basketball knocked down two of three free throws to give Northland it’s first state championship in school history, 70-68. Nine months later, the Vikings would need another spectacular performance from the best player in the land, this time against the best team in the land, the Findlay Prep Pilots out of Las Vegas. Read the rest of this entry »

Giving up an 11 point lead with four minutes left is never fun but for East’s Jeremiah Dixon, Tuesday night’s game was on to remember. Opening up City League play against crosstown rival Mifflin, Dixon torched the Punchers for 46 points including four threes, in part of a game where the guard knocked down 12 at the line, LeBron-esque? Read the rest of this entry »

As the Northland Vikings walked onto the floor to begin a season where the defending state champs will be challenged more than ever, the opening tip was an indication of what was to come. As usual, Jared Sullinger won the tip and the season was off. Even on a night where top players Sullinger and JD Weatherspoon weren’t as dominant as they have been in the past, the rest of the Northland squad stepped up big time in a 69-43 win over rival Brookhaven.

Penn State bound point guard Trey Burke took care of the scoring department, shooting exceptionally well from the field in part of 21 point performance in front of a packed crowd at Northland High School. Sullinger got the crowd rocking early on a tip slam in the second quarter that virtually changed the momentum of the game. As the Vikings were tied 15-15 at the end of the first, Ohio’s reigning Mr. Basketball decided to take over the game. Drawing fouls all night, Sullinger collected 17 points, with the  majority coming from the free throw line.

Brookhaven’s big man, Peter Kpan did an outstanding job as well. Guarding Sullinger is not the easiest task, and Kpan took care of it exceptionally well. Positioning himself in the post all night, Sullinger had a tough time getting the ball when Kpan was on him. To everyone in the stands, Kpan came as a surprise as nobody in the City League had been a challenge for Jared throughout the first three years of watching him. Kpan also did an above average job on the offensive side of the ball, scoring eight points including an impressive spin in the post on Sullinger, one of the only times Kpan scored on the Ohio State bound star.

Back to Burke, who was arguably the MVP on Tuesday night. Weeks after committing to Penn State, Trey Burke showed the crowd at Northland just what he is going to do this season. Controlling the ball on offense, Burke dominated the game at his own pace. Whether it was slashing to the basket, or hitting deep three’s, which he did three times on Tuesday, the junior  was the best player on the court. But with every win in basketball, it takes more than two players to get it done and the Vikings did just that. Sophomore KeChaun Lewis electrified the crowd in the third quarter when #22 threw down a thunderous jam on a fast break where Lewis caused a turnover, one of many for Brookhaven last night.

The offense for Northland was very good for the most part, as Weatherspoon poured in seven, Burke added in seven as well and Lavonte Justice had six points coming off of two three point field goals. JV superstar Lequan Williams also made a contribution late in the game, driving to the hoop for two of his six points. With the balanced scoring, the Viking defense was virtually suffocating. Giving up a game high 15 points in the first, no such scoring output for Brookhaven would come again. Building an eight point lead at the break, the Vikings would go on to allow six, 11 and 11 points in the last three quarters. A good mix of offense and defense is crucial to winning basketball games and Northland took care of that downing the Brookhaven Bearcats once again.

To see highlights of the game go to:http://www.mefeedia.com/video/26698248. This is compliments of Anthony Murphy over at Cap City Preps.

With the failure of the South-Western City Schools operating levy last August, Central Crossing soccer star Luke Carmichael was held back from a junior season that looked to be very promising. Starting every game in his first two seasons on the varsity squad, a third year on the team was out of sight. But for Carmichael, his playing days were nowhere near ending.

As a key member of Blast F.C., Carmichael has modeled his game of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the world’s greatest player who Carmichael compares his speed to. Another comparison is leadership, which Carmichael was a big part of last season for the Comets, serving as captain. When asked about what he does on the field to help teammates the most and improve the team as a whole, Carmichael responed by saying, “I’m a strong leader. I tell people what to do and just help communicate and I see the whole field when I’m playing which helps my team and forces me to make smart decisions.” Carmichael would add later, “As a team, we are very good at yelling at one another on the field to encourage better play and improve and kinks that may be in our game.”

With a school season out of the window, most of Luke’s time would be devoted to his club team, which after winning two tournaments in the last month, look to be on track to win the state championship.

“With the failure of the levy, it really caused me to focus on my club team much more. I was determined to get better each day and I put in the necessary work to do so.”

Scoring seven goals on the top talent in the region, numerous colleges have come calling. These include the likes of Eastern Illinois and Marshall among others. Attending a school where athletic success has been hard to come by, Carmichael has been the alternative in his three years as a Comet, and if he keeps working hard and staying focused the sky is the limit for the Manchester United fan. When asked how he reminds himself of Ronaldo, who is now starring for the European power Real Madrid, Carmichael cited his speed, strength and decision making ability as the major similarities.

“I have a really strong shot, I’m pretty accurate and my speed is a major strength.”

When the school season for soccer opens up next fall look for Carmichael to be right back on his road to success that likely will end on the Division I level.

On the first day of free agency for Major League Baseball, the NL’s best team traded for one of the best pitchers in the league but also took a risk in the process. After failing to acquire Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay before the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies finally completed a deal with the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays just minutes ago. According to SI.com, Philadelphia dealt the dominant Cliff Lee to Seattle and it is rumored that Halladay will sign an extension in the coming days after indicating his interest in Philadelphia. Read the rest of this entry »

On Tuesday night, Hilliard Bradley totaled 35 points in an entire game in a 16-point loss to New Albany. By halftime on Friday, the Jaguars had already scored 38 points, and behind Evan Bell’s 18 points, Bradley (2-1, 1-1) put Franklin Heights away Read the rest of this entry »