District Final Preview: Lions prepare for district final with Jeeps
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It has been a roller-coaster ride of sorts for the Fairfield Lions this season, but that ride has directed them to the Division IV SE District Finals this Saturday night (March 9) at 9:30 p.m as they will take on No. 2 seed South Webster at the Convocation Center.
The Lions will oppose South Webster in the district final, which will be played on the campus of Ohio University.
The Jeeps (16-7) have won their past three games, including two in the postseason over Glenwood (New Boston) and Miller by a combined score of 123-47 by scores of 72-17 and 51-30.
[[In-content Ad]]"We played them some during the summer," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "They (SWHS) play a man defense and box out well. They have a kid that is 6-6, 6-7, and he's very strong inside. They also have a couple good outside shooters and had three kids make the AP all-district list."
As for the No. 5-seeded Lions of FHS (13-11), they have also won their past three games, including two postseason wins. In the sectional finals, the Lions defeated Highland County rival Whiteoak, 55-46, and on Tuesday, the Lions upended the No. 1-seeded Eastern Pike Eagles by a 55-52 score.
"I was real pleased with the kids' performance against Eastern," Snyder said. "Our kids were more focused on the game plan. I think we surprised Eastern.
"I liked the kids' enthusiasm and their excitement following the win Tuesday. They were so excited to get the win, and that's something I like to see."
For the season, the Lions have averaged 62.8 ppg and have allowed 58.8 ppg.
This is the second time in the past three seasons the Lions have been in the district finals as they last played in a district final on March 12, 2011, a game in which they lost to South Webster by a 60-52 score.
But this is 2013, and all but one player is gone from that Lion squad, as senior leader Quentin Williams, who was selected Division IV Associated Press SE All-District first-team, is the lone player left from that team.
Williams, who was also voted Division IV District 14 second-team by the coaches of the district, is coming off a 27-point performance against Eastern Pike in the district semifinals, while scoring 23 points in the sectional finals on Feb. 26.
This regular season, Williams led Highland County in scoring during the regular season with 21.6 points per game, scoring 454 points in 21 games played, as he missed one game this past season.
The Lions this year also had two other players in the top 10 of Highland County scoring, with junior post player Ryan Bates averaging 12.3 ppg and junior Gage Montgomery averaging 10.4 ppg. Bates was also voted to the all-district team by the coaches at honorable mention and by the AP to the third team. Montgomery was special mention on the AP team.
FHS has two district titles in 1996 and 1978 and has been the runner-up in the district tournament four times (2011, 1997, '95 and '47).
As for the Jeeps of SWHS, they began the regular season with three straight wins and followed that by winning seven of their first eight games.
In the month of January, SWHS went 6-4, and in February, the Jeeps went 4-2. In 23 games this season, SWHS has averaged 58.1 ppg, while allowing 46.6 ppg. The Jeeps are also the only team from Division IV in the Southern Ohio Conference 2.
"Against Miller, they played four guards and one center (four out and one inside)," Snyder said. "We usually go three guards and two forwards, but we might have to make some adjustments."
The Jeeps, who have five district titles in school history, are led by Seth Goddard, who was voted first-team all-district by the coaches of District 14, and Levi Cook, who was an honorable mention selection.
In their district semifinal game against Miller, Cook led the Jeeps with 18 points, followed by Andrew Salisbury with 15 and Jensen Dyer with 11. Goddard was held to four points in that game, but he scored 18 points in their sectional semifinal win over New Boston.
Coach Snyder spoke about who the Jeeps remind him of that the Lions have played this season.
"They remind me of Lynchburg-Clay," he said. "They are similar because like South Webster, Lynchburg-Clay had a big man dominate inside with Alec Smith. Dyer is South Webster's big man, and we'll have to out-rebound them and limit their shots to one.
"We'll have to keep the game in transition, and if we can do that, we'll nullify their big man to an extent."
The Lions have played two games 18 or so days. Snyder spoke about how his team dealt with the layoff during this postseason.
"We have been mixing up practices," he said. "We held some practices at Southern State and Ohio University to get used to the bigger floor. We also held several team activities to keep things fun."
The Lions will oppose South Webster in the district final, which will be played on the campus of Ohio University.
The Jeeps (16-7) have won their past three games, including two in the postseason over Glenwood (New Boston) and Miller by a combined score of 123-47 by scores of 72-17 and 51-30.
[[In-content Ad]]"We played them some during the summer," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "They (SWHS) play a man defense and box out well. They have a kid that is 6-6, 6-7, and he's very strong inside. They also have a couple good outside shooters and had three kids make the AP all-district list."
As for the No. 5-seeded Lions of FHS (13-11), they have also won their past three games, including two postseason wins. In the sectional finals, the Lions defeated Highland County rival Whiteoak, 55-46, and on Tuesday, the Lions upended the No. 1-seeded Eastern Pike Eagles by a 55-52 score.
"I was real pleased with the kids' performance against Eastern," Snyder said. "Our kids were more focused on the game plan. I think we surprised Eastern.
"I liked the kids' enthusiasm and their excitement following the win Tuesday. They were so excited to get the win, and that's something I like to see."
For the season, the Lions have averaged 62.8 ppg and have allowed 58.8 ppg.
This is the second time in the past three seasons the Lions have been in the district finals as they last played in a district final on March 12, 2011, a game in which they lost to South Webster by a 60-52 score.
But this is 2013, and all but one player is gone from that Lion squad, as senior leader Quentin Williams, who was selected Division IV Associated Press SE All-District first-team, is the lone player left from that team.
Williams, who was also voted Division IV District 14 second-team by the coaches of the district, is coming off a 27-point performance against Eastern Pike in the district semifinals, while scoring 23 points in the sectional finals on Feb. 26.
This regular season, Williams led Highland County in scoring during the regular season with 21.6 points per game, scoring 454 points in 21 games played, as he missed one game this past season.
The Lions this year also had two other players in the top 10 of Highland County scoring, with junior post player Ryan Bates averaging 12.3 ppg and junior Gage Montgomery averaging 10.4 ppg. Bates was also voted to the all-district team by the coaches at honorable mention and by the AP to the third team. Montgomery was special mention on the AP team.
FHS has two district titles in 1996 and 1978 and has been the runner-up in the district tournament four times (2011, 1997, '95 and '47).
As for the Jeeps of SWHS, they began the regular season with three straight wins and followed that by winning seven of their first eight games.
In the month of January, SWHS went 6-4, and in February, the Jeeps went 4-2. In 23 games this season, SWHS has averaged 58.1 ppg, while allowing 46.6 ppg. The Jeeps are also the only team from Division IV in the Southern Ohio Conference 2.
"Against Miller, they played four guards and one center (four out and one inside)," Snyder said. "We usually go three guards and two forwards, but we might have to make some adjustments."
The Jeeps, who have five district titles in school history, are led by Seth Goddard, who was voted first-team all-district by the coaches of District 14, and Levi Cook, who was an honorable mention selection.
In their district semifinal game against Miller, Cook led the Jeeps with 18 points, followed by Andrew Salisbury with 15 and Jensen Dyer with 11. Goddard was held to four points in that game, but he scored 18 points in their sectional semifinal win over New Boston.
Coach Snyder spoke about who the Jeeps remind him of that the Lions have played this season.
"They remind me of Lynchburg-Clay," he said. "They are similar because like South Webster, Lynchburg-Clay had a big man dominate inside with Alec Smith. Dyer is South Webster's big man, and we'll have to out-rebound them and limit their shots to one.
"We'll have to keep the game in transition, and if we can do that, we'll nullify their big man to an extent."
The Lions have played two games 18 or so days. Snyder spoke about how his team dealt with the layoff during this postseason.
"We have been mixing up practices," he said. "We held some practices at Southern State and Ohio University to get used to the bigger floor. We also held several team activities to keep things fun."